This Protector
by edenfalls81
Summary: Sequel to In the Cold Cold Night. Inara tries to get revenge on River. Rated M for violence and mature content. Now Complete!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Mal stood on the catwalk overlooking the cargo bay with a dumbfounded look of shock on his face. River walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"What's got you so conflicted ai-ren? I could read you all the way from the galley." She asked and planted a kiss on his back right between his shoulder blades.

"That right down there is what's got me so messed up." Mal replied and pointed down to the cargo bay floor.

River stepped around Mal so that she could see what he was looking at. A look of shock which matched her husband's crossed her face but she quickly wiped it away.

"He's doing really well." She complimented.

"I know that's what's so creepifying." Mal countered.

The couple stood in silence looking down at the sight in front of them for another five minutes.

It was when Simon punched Jayne hard enough to knock him across the room that Mal and River hurried down the stairs and into the middle of the spectacle they had just been watching.

"Jayne are you alright? I'm sorry I didn't mean to hit you so hard, guess I just got carried away huh?" Simon apologized as he offered a hand to the merc and helped him to his feet.

"S'ok. That was a good hit." Jayne assured him but rubbed his jaw and gave the doctor a slightly disgruntled look.

Ever since Simon had found out that he like River had been genetically engineered he had been determined to push the limits of his advanced genes as much as he could. That included having River and Jayne train him in combat. When he'd started training a month after he and Kaylee had been married Mal had been convinced that it was a hopeless cause. Simon couldn't throw a punch to save his life and his aim with a gun was terrifying it was so bad.

But now six months later Mal could hardly believe he was the same man. He had not only learned to shoot with an accuracy that rivaled Jayne's but with River's training he was better at hand to hand combat than anyone on the ship excluding his mei-mei.

As much as it freaked Mal out to see Simon acting like a badass he had to admit that it was nice having another gun hand on the ship. With the tendency their jobs had of turning pear shaped there was no way he was going to refuse the skills of one more genetically engineered super fighter.

"Still seems weird watchin yer brother beat up Jayne. Never in a million years did I think I'd see that." Mal commented as he and River headed to their bunk to clean up for dinner.

"It is rather disconcerting I admit. Simon was never one for physical exertion even when we were children. But he has progressed further than I ever thought he would. In fact he may someday even be able to take me on. Although I don't think he'll win, but perhaps he might give me a challenge." River joked as she pulled off the dirty clothes she'd been working in and slipped a dress over her head.

"Kinda funny though that ever since you and Jayne turned Simon inta a killer we ain't got caught in even one fight." Mal observed.

"You sound like you're upset about that." River teased.

"Well just makes me all on edge. Things go right for too long just makes me think something big and bad is on the way."

"You worry too much ai-ren. Maybe we've had all of the bad things that will happen to us happen already and from here it will be smooth sailing."

Mal smirked and gave River a kiss. "You're startin ta sound like Kaylee with a sunny disposition like that one."

"And just what is wrong with a sunny disposition?" River asked with her hands on her hips.

"Nothin, just here on this ship it never seems ta pan out does it?" Mal replied as he slipped off his shirt.

"Maybe it's that attitude." River argued.

"Hey now I'm just bein realistic." He whined.

"Fine you be the realist and I'll be the dreamer, we really do make such a perfect pair." River giggled and wrapped her arms around Mal's neck.

Mal picked her up and groaned loudly as River began to kiss and nibble on his earlobe and neck. Her nimble legs wrapped around Mal's waist as he walked backwards until his legs collided with the bed, he sank down slowly so that River was straddling him. She continued to focus her attention on his neck as he struggled to kick off his boots. He could barely focus on prying the annoying boots off as River's tongue danced enticingly down his neck and over his collar bone before she stopped to suck and gently bite one of his nipples.

Mal hips bucked up against her as she continued lower down his body; licking and nipping at his stomach and hips. She gave him a wicked smile as she undid his belt and slipped his pants and boxers off in one smooth motion. Once he was naked she slipped down lower and began to draw long lines up his thighs with her tongue. She licked up each thigh and all around him without once actually touching his acing erection. Mal grabbed the sheets of the bed and twisted them in his fists as he struggled to maintain control. Finally after what seemed like an eternity of the delicious torture River was inflicting on him she took him into her mouth. Mal threw his head back in ecstasy and moaned as her tongue swirled skillfully around him.

After only a few seconds Mal pulled her up and flipped them over so that she was pinned under him. He returned the teasing she had subjected him to, starting slowly at her ear and working his way down her body. River gasped loudly and her body trembled when Mal's tongue finally found her hot center; he brought her to the very edge of release and then pulled back before she could climax. River gave a small moan of protest that was quickly replaced by one of desire as he moved himself between her thighs and entered her in one deep thrust. They didn't take their time, but built almost instantly into a hard fast rhythm. River's legs tightened around him and her nails bit into his back as her orgasm took her over. Mal looked down to see River's head thrown back in ecstasy, her eyes were squeezed shut and short screams of pleasure were issuing from her throat. It was seeing his wife like this that took Mal over the edge as well. He shuddered and screamed out himself as he came into her.

Mal collapsed on top of River for a moment breathing heavily as he tried to regain his composure. After a few seconds he lay down next to her and pulled her over so that she was curled against his side. They didn't speak for a long time, but simply lay and enjoyed being together. It was finally River's stomach growling loudly that brought Mal back to reality.

"Guess we better get up there for dinner huh?" He said and gave River a long deep kiss and the boyish smile that she loved so much.

"I am hungry I admit." River agreed.

She sat up on the bed and began brushing her hair. The sight of his wife sitting and brushing her hair in the nude was almost enough to make Mal grab her for another round of love making, but he knew that the rest of the crew was probably waiting dinner on them.

Once they had both put themselves back together they headed to the galley to find Kaylee and Simon making out against the counter.

"See bao-bei look how they make dinner. Why can't we grope all over each other to get the cooking done?" Mal joked and then laughed when Kaylee and Simon quickly pulled away from each other and returned to their meal preparations.

"Where's Jayne and Zo?" Mal asked as he sat down in his usual chair.

"Where do you think they are?" Simon asked and raised an eyebrow at Mal.

Mal sighed loudly sounding more annoyed than he actually was. The crew had confronted Zoe and Jayne about their hidden relationships at the weddings and since then the couple had openly been together. Mal didn't think they'd ever get married; Jayne wasn't really the kind of man to take vows like that and Mal thought Zoe wouldn't ever get married again, but they did make each other happy.

_Maybe a bit too happy._ Mal thought. He knew that he and River had an extremely healthy sexual relationship, but Zoe and Jayne took things to a whole new level. Seemed like all the free time they had was spent in their bunks making love.

Once Kaylee and Simon finished dinner Mal banged loudly on the hatch to Jayne's bunk.

"Hey chows on and I'm starving so get yer pi-gu's up here fer dinner." He called through the locked hatch.

"Five minutes Sir!" Zoe yelled back.

Mal shook his head and walked back to the galley. "Gorram crew ruttin all the time. S' a wonder we ain't fallen outta the sky yet, probly no work been done in months!" Mal muttered to himself, completely ignoring the fact that he and River were having their fair share of sex as well.

True to their word Jayne and Zoe sat down at the table almost exactly five minutes later. The three couples happily dished up the food and began to eat, the conversation flowing easily between everyone at the table.

It had been like this for nearly a year now. The crew had truly grown into a family, Jayne no longer resented or belittled River or Simon and in turn everyone had grown much kinder to Jayne. Mal thought about this as he happily took in the scene before him, his family all happy and safe aboard their home, it was what he'd always wanted, but thought he'd never have.

Mal's happiness was dashed when he thought about how it probably wouldn't last, he hated the fact that he believed that, but life had taught him that inevitably things changed and usually not for the better.

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The two Alliance officials walked quickly down the opulent hall of the temple. Their surroundings were soft and feminine and the two men dressed so sterilely stood out in harsh contrast. They turned simultaneously and entered the room to their right. The room was large, dark, and seemingly empty. Against one wall sat a large shrine and after a moment a light broke through the darkness as a match was suddenly struck. A candle was lit and in the dim illumination the Alliance men could make out a silhouette near the alter. The walked confidently towards the figure and stopped a few feet away.

"Miss Serra thank you for meeting with us." One of the men said quietly.

"It's my pleasure I'm sorry it has to be in such secretive circumstances." Inara whispered in return.

"Perfectly understandable Miss Serra, I'm sure the Guild would be less than thrilled to know that their top Companion was helping to bring known fugitives to justice. A very worthy cause, but one that is, how should I put this? Less than appropriate for one as refined as you." The agent returned.

"Well I thank you for your understanding. Here is everything I could think of to help you find them. It's a description of the ship, names and locations of contacts that they have, and personal information about each crew member. I hope it will help you accomplish your goal." Inara said with the same even grace that she always spoke with and handed one of the agents a data stick.

"I'm sure your information will be most helpful in tracking them down. Very soon River and Simon Tam will be back home where they belong." The second agent said with a wide grin.

"Just remember our deal. Malcolm Reynolds is not to be injured." Inara said forcefully.

"Trust us Miss Serra we don't want to harm anyone, we simply want to return two very dangerous individuals to where they can be watched and taken care of." The first agent assured her and then the two men turned and walked from the temple.

"The issue of Malcolm Reynolds?" The second agent asked his comrade as they boarded their shuttle.

"He will be disposed of along with the rest of the crew. Anyone who has had contact with the Tams must be eliminated, including Miss Serra. Her death must look like an accident, she is too well known in Core society circles to simply erase." The first agent answered.

As the shuttle took off the two agents loaded the data stick up onto the computer. They quickly scanned through the information and both men broke into wide smiles.

"This information should lead us straight to Serenity. We will have the Tams returned to their mother within the week." The first agent said with an almost gleeful ring to his voice.

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A/N- Hope you enjoyed the first chapter in this sequel. I probably won't update this one quite as often as the first story, but I'll try and update as much as possible.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Firefly or any of it's characters, but I really wish I did.

Chapter 2

"Sir we have a hit on Reynolds' ship. One of the contacts we received from Miss Serra told us that…" The agent paused for a second to scan the paper in his hand. "That Serenity will be landing on Persephone in three days time." He finished after finding the name of the ship.

"Has the contact been taken care of?" His superior asked.

"Yes, a man by the name of Badger. He was eliminated this morning, he was a small time black market smuggler, his death won't be questioned."

"Good. Set a course for Persephone. I want word the second that Serenity docks." The man in charge ordered with a smile.

"Yes sir."

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"How far out are we from Persephone, love?" Mal asked as he leaned over River in the pilot's seat.

"Roughly fifty-two hours ai-ren." She answered.

"Good. You ready for lunch? Jayne's cookin." Mal asked as he offered her a hand to pull her up from the chair.

As soon as River was on her feet her face turned an alarming shade of green and then turned starkly white.

"Hey bao-bei Jayne's cooking ain't that bad." Mal quipped at seeing the look on her face.

Rive took a deep breath and tried to give Mal a smile. Before she could however her eyes rolled up into her head and she collapsed into Mal's arms.

"River? Hey love wake up!" Mal said in a panicky tone.

He picked River up when she showed no signs of responding and carried her to the infirmary.

"Doc somethins wrong with yer sis! Get in here!" He yelled out the door hoping Simon was close enough to hear him.

Simon ran in a second later and his eyes grew wide at the sight of his unconscious sister lying on the table.

"What happened?" He asked as he moved over and began to check her vitals.

"Don't know. She stood up, turned white, and then just passed out." Mal explained as he held onto River's hand.

Simon picked up a small flashlight and lifted one of River's eyelids to check her pupils. She groaned and moved her head away from the light as soon as he shone it in her eye.

"Hey mei-mei. Does anything hurt?" Simon asked as River struggled to focus her eyes.

"No just feel sick to my stomach and my head is spinning." She replied.

Simon continued his exam and then drew some blood.

"Can I go back to our room and lay down? I hate it in here." River complained after twenty minutes.

"As long as Mal walks you down there and you take it very slow." Simon allowed as he continued to look over her tests.

River excitedly sat up, but slumped back down almost immediately.

"Grab her!" Simon yelled as she began to slide off the table.

Mal quickly caught River in his arms and laid her back down on the table.

"Shit! What in the hell is wrong with my wife Simon?" Mal yelled angrily. He realized it wasn't the doctor's fault but he needed someone to yell at.

Instead of answering Simon began grabbing rubber tubing and needles from a drawer. He swabbed River's arm quickly and inserted a needle into the crook of her elbow. River moaned and woke up when he did this. Simon then repeated the actions on himself and in under a minute had begun giving River a transfusion.

"River have you been feeling weak and tired for a few days?" Simon asked.

Her eyes were large and scared looking as she focused on the needles in her and her brother.

"River. Focus on me alright. Have you been feeling tired and weak for a few days?" Simon asked again.

"Yes." She admitted.

"Bao-bei if you weren't feelin good how come ya didn't tell me?" Mal asked as he lovingly brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes.

"Didn't want you to worry, I thought it was just a flu bug." River answered.

"Well you're extremely anemic. I just don't know why yet. As soon as you've gotten enough blood I'll start scanning your blood tests, hopefully I can find what's causing the anemia." Simon explained.

He stopped the transfusion fifteen minutes later and was encouraged to see that River's color had improved greatly by the time it was finished.

"Feeling better now mei-mei?" He asked.

"Yes Simon much better. Thank you for the donation of your blood." She said and kissed him on the cheek.

"Hey you've given me blood before, just returning the favor." He replied.

Mal slid an arm around River's waist and helped her down from the table. She swayed a little at being up right and then smiled reassuringly and found her balance.

"Alright I'm gonna take her to our room so's she can lay down." Mal said.

The couple turned to leave the room but stopped when Simon called them back.

"I think I found the problem with River." He said as he read the scan results.

"What's wrong?" Mal asked instantly concerned.

"Well it looks like you two kids are gonna have a baby." Simon revealed with a bright wide smile on his face.

"I'm pregnant?" River asked sounding awed.

"Yep I'd say from the blood tests you're about two months along. I need you get back on the table for me River there are some tests I need to run." Simon instructed.

"Why is something wrong with the baby?" She asked immediately concerned.

"No, I mean not that I know of, but anemia in pregnancy is a warning sign of problems. We need to figure out why River's blood count is so low." Simon explained and helped River back up onto the table.

He spent the next half hour taking more blood and running all sorts of various tests that made River edgy and uncomfortable. It was while he was sitting and muttering to himself that Mal finally lost his patience.

"So? You figure out what's wrong?" He asked.

"I think so. Its nothing really wrong just a few changes we need to make. First off I'll have to take River off of the meds that she's currently taking. But since we've been gradually reducing your meds anyway that shouldn't be a problem. I also want you to start taking prenatal vitamins and iron supplements. Sometimes when a woman is as petite as River her body has a hard time making enough hemoglobin for herself and the baby. That's why you're so anemic most of the iron in your blood has been going to the baby. We should also stock up on red meat while we're on Persephone." Simon instructed.

Both of the parents-to-be sighed with relief when Simon explained how simply the problem could be fixed.

"Would you like to see the first scan of your baby?" Simon asked as he lifted River's shirt and placed the scanner against her belly.

Both of them nodded excitedly and turned to the screen hooked up to the scanner. It was fuzzy and confusing for a few minutes as Simon tried to bring the fetus into focus.

"Zhen ta ma jue!" Simon exclaimed suddenly.

"What? What's incredible?" Mal asked anxiously.

"See that little moving part right there? That's the baby's heart beat." Simon explained as he pointed out a tiny pulsing blip.

"Well if that thing is the heart beat how come there's another one right there?" Mal asked and pointed at a second beating blip.

It was about two seconds later that Mal got what River and Simon already knew.

"There's two of em? Like twins?" Mal asked and realized that he was babbling stupidly.

River was smiling widely and positively glowing at the news. Mal made a slight squeaky sound and then leaned over to kiss his wife excitedly.

"Can you tell if they're boys or girls?" He asked once he had regained the use of his brain.

"Its still too early for that, we'll be able to tell in another two months or so. But I can tell you that they are identical twins, there's only one amniotic sac. So you'll definitely have either two boys or two girls. You won't get one of each."

"Wow identical twins. You think we can handle that bao-bei?" Mal asked River.

"I hope so because it looks like we'll have to handle it." River replied sounding somewhat worried herself.

"River it should be fine for you to go back to your bunk now, but I want you taking it very easy for at the next four or five days. At least until those iron supplements have a chance to take effect. You can still pilot, but no going on jobs where you might be fighting or even just on your feet a lot. I want you sitting or lying down as much as possible." Simon instructed sternly.

River sighed and then stuck her tongue out at her brother. "Alright doctor I will take it easy." She promised.

"Hey you're going to be a mother soon, don't you think its time to stop sticking your tongue out at me?" Simon whined.

River leaned on Mal's arm as they left the infirmary. She looked over her shoulder at Simon and stuck her tongue out at him.

"No I don't think there will ever be a time for me to stop doing that." She giggled.

That night while River rested in their bunk Mal proceeded to tell the rest of the crew the good news and then get amazingly drunk when Jayne insisted that they celebrate.

Two days later Mal's hang over had finally disappeared completely and they landed on Persephone.

"I still hate the idea of leaving you on the ship alone." Mal protested.

"I'll be fine ai-ren. You go meet with Badger, Kaylee and Simon can get the supplies and you'll all be back soon." River assured him.

"Still what if somethin happens with the babies while no one is here to help you?" He asked.

River sighed. It was going to be a very long seven months if Mal continued to worry and fret over her like this for the entire pregnancy.

"Mal I'll have the comm. I can easily get in touch with you or Simon if I need to. Plus I really feel fine, I'd go on the job with you today if you and Simon would let me." River said only whining slightly.

"Yeah ain't no way that's happening. I don't want you goin on any jobs till after the babies are born."

River rolled her eyes, but knew that it was useless to bring up this argument again.

"Go, get the info from Badger, and hurry home to me. I promise I'll be fine." River comforted and gave him a warm kiss.

"We'll be back soon I swear." Mal assured her and climbed out of their bunk.

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"Sir Reynolds and his crew have left the ship. The only one who didn't leave was River Tam."

Captain Syler grinned widely at the news. He'd been assigned to the Tam case only four months ago and already he'd gotten so much closer to them than anyone else had since they'd nearly been apprehended on Ariel years before.

"Excellent. Apprehending River will be much easier if she is alone. Send a squad to Serenity immediately to apprehend her. Remember I want her tranquilized on sight and I want at least six men on lookout to warn if the crew returns before we have Miss Tam in custody." Syler instructed.

"What about the rest of the crew Sir?" The underling asked.

"Take them once they're back on board Serenity. Take as many as you can alive, they could be put to good use in other projects. If you have to kill them to apprehend the Tams then do it, but remember River and Simon are not to be harmed. Their mother has very important plans for both of them. Getting them is the most important aspect of this mission, the rest of them are expendable." Syler replied.

"Very good Sir. I'll radio when we have the Tams in custody." The Alliance soldier answered and then left after quickly saluting the Captain.

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River woke up when she heard the sound of the cargo bay doors opening. She was surprised that the crew would have returned so quickly, but then thought that maybe Mal had changed his mind and sent someone back to sit with her.

She sighed in frustration with her husband and quickly climbed out of the bunk leaving the comm unit lying on the bed when she went.

It wasn't until she was fully out of her bunk that she realized how wrong things had gone. She knew that the presence she felt on board was not her husband or any of the crew. The thought had just entered her mind when she heard a whistling sound and felt a sharp pain in her leg. River looked down to find a tranquilizer dart sticking out of her calf. She could feel the effects of the drug almost instantly but forced herself to run towards the cargo bay. She glanced behind her to see three Alliance soldiers running towards her and she sensed that there were more ahead of her.

Her head was swimming from the effects of the tranquilizer, but all she could think about was the fact that now if the Alliance captured her not only would she be taken back to the Academy but her unborn children would be taken as well. It was this thought that forced her body to keep running. She entered the cargo bay and saw that there were seven soldiers standing between her and the exit. Normally ten men even armed would be no problem for River to take down. But being weakened from the anemia and the tranquilizer on top of that made River realize that this was going to be a struggle.

She ran straight at the seven men in front of her and managed to take two of them down right away with a few well placed kicks. Each spin of her body made her head swim dangerously and she felt the edges of unconsciousness trying to grab her. She once again forced the effects of the drugs aside and turned to face the men she could sense coming up behind her. The three of them hit the floor before they were able to even get a hand on her.

Having taken out half the men River made a break for the door. She was halfway out when another tranquilizer dart caught her in the other leg. Feeling panic overwhelm her she knew now that she wouldn't make it without help from someone. She stumbled down Serenity's ramp and used the very last of her strength to scream out loud, desperately hoping that someone on the docks would play the good Samaritan and become involved.

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Mal, Zoe, and Jayne were only two blocks away from the docks when Mal suddenly stopped. His eyes glazed over and his head was cocked to the side as he seemed to stare at nothing.

Zoe turned when the Captain stopped and was instantly stuck by how much he looked like River when she was reading something.

"Sir?" She asked and moved towards him.

She reached an arm out to touch the Captain, but he turned and began running back the way they had come.

"Mal!" Jayne shouted.

Mal didn't turn around but shouted back, "River's in trouble we gotta get back." Then continued to dash back towards Serenity.

Mal's chest felt like it had turned to stone as he ran as fast as he could back to his ship. He wasn't sure how he'd heard her, but River's scream was reverberating through his head with startling clarity. He could also feel her fear as if it were his own.

Serenity came into view and Mal saw that the cargo bay doors were open. He dashed to the ramp and felt a moment's relief when he saw River run out of the ship. The relief was dashed a moment later when River stumbled and started to fall. Mal was able to reach her before she hit the ground and pulled her into his arms.

Off in the distance he heard a pop and a split second later felt something hit his back. He didn't feel the pain until River suddenly stiffened in his arms. He glanced down and saw that River had a bullet hole through her shoulder. He was confused for a second until he realized that the bullet had hit him in the back and passed clean through his chest to go into her.

His legs buckled a moment later and both of them fell to the ground. The last thing he saw before losing consciousness was River's limp body being pulled away from him by three men wearing Alliance uniforms.

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A/N- I know I said I wouldn't update often and now I'm doing two in one day, but this story is screaming to get out of my head.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Zoe and Jayne reached the mouth of the alley in time to see Mal catch River as she fell down the ship's ramp. A second later Mal took a bullet to the back and he and River both fell to the ground. Jayne tensed and readied himself to run out and help when Zoe grabbed his shirt and held him back.

"Zo what are ay doin? We gotta go help em." Jayne shouted as he struggled against Zoe's grip.

"Look up on the roof Jayne." Zoe instructed and pointed.

Jayne scanned the roofs surrounding them and spotted at least six snipers all with guns aimed toward Mal and River.

"Shit!" Jayne yelled again.

"I know. We gotta let em go for now. Let's go get Simon and Kaylee." Zoe said in the same calm voice she always used.

The two of them hurried toward the market where they hoped Simon and Kaylee were shopping without trouble.

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Mal woke up slowly but held still so that no one would know he was awake. He used his other senses to try and give him some clue to his current situation before opening his eyes. He could hear and feel the gentle hum of an engine and figured that it felt small enough to probably be just a shuttle. This was good news in his opinion, it meant that wherever he was being taken he wasn't there yet, which meant more chances of escape. He could feel a tight pair of handcuffs digging into his wrists. He could also feel at least two bodies pressed against his. He squinted his eyes open slowly and glanced around. He sighed with relief when he saw that the body pressed against his right side was River, he could make out the top of her head and long dark hair. Mal slid his eyes to the left and saw that the other body pressed against his was Simon, both of the Tam siblings seemed to be unconscious.

Finally Mal worked up enough courage to open both eyes widely and look fully around the room. They were in the small storage area at the back of what Mal recognized as an Alliance shuttle. River was lying on her side with her head and upper body pressed against Mal. The Alliance was obviously taking no chances with her, while he was only shackled at the wrists, River's hands and ankles had both been tightly bound and long chains ran from the cuffs to a chain that had been locked around her waist.

Once he was sure that River was breathing steadily Mal turned to take a closer look at Simon. Unlike his sister Simon had only been handcuffed like Mal, but he had obviously taken a brutal beating. Both of his eyes were swollen and black and his bottom lip was split, a long stream of blood ran from his mouth and onto the front of his white shirt. When Mal began to wiggle to try and get a better view of Simon's injuries the doctor moaned and began to stir.

"Simon. Hey ya with me Doc?" Mal whispered.

"Wha… Where are we?" Simon croaked in a hoarse whisper.

"Alliance shuttle best I can tell. You think you can sit up? You're kinda smashing me." Mal asked and gently nudged Simon into a sitting position.

As soon as Simon's weight had moved off Mal's shoulder the captain felt a sharp twinge of pain and looked down to see blood pouring out of his chest just below his shoulder.

Simon's confused expression quickly turned to one of concern when he saw the blood. He moved closer to Mal and pressed both of his bound hands to the wound.

"Wuh de ma! Mal this is bad, I think the bullet nicked one of the arteries in your chest. We have to get the bleeding stopped or you're going to bleed out." Simon whispered and looked around frantically for something to stem the flow of blood.

Finally not seeing anything Simon ripped the sleeve off of his shirt and tied it tightly around Mal's shoulder. Mal hissed in pain as Simon pulled the sleeve viscously tight.

"I'm sorry but we have to make it as tight as possible. It would be a lot easier without these gorram cuffs on, but I think that should stop the bleeding enough to keep you alive for a while." Simon apologized. "You know if they hadn't thrown me on top of you when they put us in here you would have bled to death already." Simon commented.

"Yeah I'll be sure to thank them for that. Before they start torturing and experimenting on River and possibly us as well." Mal whispered back sarcastically.

"Is River alright?" Simon asked and did his best to wiggle in the cramped space over to his sister.

"She's breathing steady, but I think they tranqued her. She passed out soon as I got to the ship and I'm pretty sure I saw a dart in her leg when she fell." Mal explained.

"What happened to Kaylee?" Mal whispered a second later, afraid to hear the answer.

"I think she's alright. I saw them coming so I pushed her into a supply closet at the back of the store then I took off and tried to lead them away from her. They beat the go-se out of me when they caught up with me." Simon explained and Mal felt his stress lift a little to know that his mei-mei was safe.

"Is the tranquilizer gonna hurt the babies?" Mal asked hating the fact that he kept having to ask Simon difficult questions that he was afraid to hear the answers to.

"There's a chance that it could, but it's fairly small. I would never recommend giving a pregnant woman a tranquilizer, but really that's just a safety precaution. The placenta should filter out most of the medicine before it reaches the babies." Simon assured him and Mal again felt his heart lighten a little.

"Do you think they're taking us to the Academy?" Simon asked taking his turn to ask a difficult question.

"Not sure. Honestly that's probably where they'll take River and maybe you as well, don't really know what they'd do with me at that place, my brain ain't all souped up like the two a you's." Mal answered.

Mal heard Simon take a sharp breath of air and saw that the doctor's face had grown ashen. He knew that Simon's worst fear in the world, aside from something happening to Kaylee, was River being taken back to the Academy and now he was being faced with that situation. Add to that the fact that he himself might be facing the same torture they'd put his sister through and Mal thought that Simon was handling the news surprisingly well.

"We have to get out of this. I'm not letting them screw with her brain again. After everything she's been through, she's been doing so well, I can't let her go back to that." Simon whispered desperately.

"I know we'll figure something out." Mal promised trying to reassure the younger man.

Both men squinted suddenly as the small door to the cargo hold was thrown open suddenly bathing the darkened room in harsh white light.

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Zoe and Jayne were able to find the spot where the Alliance had attacked Simon easily. There was a large crowd gathered around still talking about what had happened.

"Hey what's goin on?" Jayne asked grabbing the scruff of the neck of a young boy who ran by.

"Purple bellies beat the go-se outta some guy. Said he was a fugitive." The boy explained excitedly.

"They get him?" Jayne asked.

"Yep loaded him up on a shuttle. They took off a minute ago." The boy answered and then ran off to dart among the crowd of onlookers.

"So we know they got Mal, Simon, and River. You think they got Kaylee too?" Jayne asked with concern. Like Mal Jayne thought of Kaylee as a little sister, the thought of her in the hands of the Alliance was disturbing.

"Don't know. The kid didn't say anything about a girl, so maybe she got away." Zoe said hopefully and then in an uncharacteristic display of emotion she reached over and gripped Jayne's hand tightly.

Jayne pulled Zoe to her and wrapped her in a tight hug, as much for his comfort as her own. Over Zoe's shoulder Jayne saw a figure moving through the crowd towards them. A second later he recognized that it was Kaylee hurrying in the direction of Serenity. She cried out suddenly when she saw Jayne and Zoe and broke into a sprint towards them.

"They took 'im. The Alliance they got Simon!" She yelled and threw herself into Zoe and Jayne's arms crying hysterically.

"Hey mei-mei it's alright we'll get them back I promise." Zoe comforted.

"Them?" Kaylee asked through her tears.

"They got Mal and River too." Jayne said quietly hating to give Kaylee anything more to cry over.

Kaylee's eyes grew wide with horror, but she didn't start crying again.

"Let's get back to the ship. We'll figure something out from there." Zoe suggested and turned Kaylee in the direction of the docks.

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"Finally the infamous Tam siblings and Malcolm Reynolds. You know I think the three of you have caused the Alliance a bigger headache than anyone else in the Verse since the war ended." Captain Syler said with a grin as he stared into the cargo hold.

"Imagine the promotion I'll receive when I hand the three of you over." He exclaimed delightedly.

"Well congratulations on the career advancement." Mal replied sarcastically.

"Where are you taking us?" Simon demanded.

"I thought you would have figured that out by now Dr. Tam, perhaps those genius brains of yours were overestimated a bit? We're taking you home to your mother, to the Academy she started for the both of you. I'm sure you have plenty you'll want to catch up on with her." Syler said with a smirk of glee on his face.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Captain Syler smiled down delightedly at his three captives. Fantasies of promotions and praise quickly spun through his head.

"Now I'm sure all sorts of escape plans are running through your heads right about now. And with Miss Tam's skills I'm sure you could probably pull something off. But I'll let you in on a little secret. Miss Tam's shackles are welded to the wall, she won't be going anywhere until I want her to. The shackles you gentlemen are wearing contain blasting caps. If you move into the main part of the shuttle they will detonate immediately. Granted they do contain only a small amount of explosives but it's enough to blow off your hands. So if I were you I would stay back here." Syler informed them obviously taking pride and enjoyment in the steps he'd taken to prevent them from escaping.

Without another word Syler slammed the door plunging them back into darkness. Simon and Mal sat in silence for over five minutes, both lost in their own thoughts.

"You think there's anyway we could pick the cuffs?" Simon asked.

Mal glanced around the dim room and saw that besides the three of them it was completely empty.

"You got any long thin pieces of metal on ya?" Mal asked.

"No." Simon said with a disappointed sigh.

"Then no I don't think picking the cuffs is an option." Mal said dejectedly.

"You think the crew will come for us?" Simon asked a few minutes later.

"They'll try if they can." Mal answered with confidence.

River remained sedated the entire time they were in the cargo hold. Mal couldn't be sure but he figured that they were in the black for over six hours. Being picked up on Persephone Mal knew that at full burn they could easily have reached Osiris in that amount of time.

Simon and Mal blinked as the door was thrust open once again and the room flooded with light.

"I'm holding the detonator to both of your cuffs if you struggle or try to escape I won't hesitate to use it." Syler warned them and then stepped aside to allow two soldiers into the room.

Simon was hauled roughly to his feet and shackled in much the same way as River. Once he was fully restrained he was pulled from the room. Mal was given the same treatment a minute later.

He was pulled through the small shuttle and out into the sunlight. He scanned the area around him and his heart sank when he recognized the skyline of Osiris, it seemed they were being taken to the Academy.

One of the soldiers who had chained up Mal hit him suddenly in the back of the legs and Mal fell to his knees. He could feel the bullet wound open and begin bleeding again at the sudden movement. Mal grunted in pain as two of the soldiers picked him up and dropped him roughly onto a rolling gurney. Once he was on the gurney the soldiers strapped him down so that the only thing he could freely move was his head.

As they began rolling him away from the shuttle Mal glanced frantically around. He could see Simon up ahead of him also strapped to a gurney. By craning his head as far back as he could the captain was able to see River's limp body being strapped down the way he was. The three of them were quickly rolled towards a large sterile white building. Just before they reached the entrance River began to moan and opened her eyes.

Mal saw River's eyes grow wide as she took in the view of the building in front of them. She began to struggle against her restraints and then let out a scream that seemed to freeze Mal's blood.

"Bao-bei it's alright. I'm right here." Mal said trying to give her some small measure of comfort as they were wheeled into the large building.

River's screams died off but Mal could still hear her whimpering under her breath. As they reached the end of a long hallway Mal was wheeled to the right as River and Simon were taken to the left.

"I'll get us out of this River I swear! Don't let them break you, I'll come for you! I love you!" Mal screamed at the top of his lungs desperately hoping that River was coherent enough to understand and hold onto his words.

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"If the Alliance has em there ain't much chance of us getting them out is there?" Jayne asked Zoe.

The two of them had been sitting at the table in the galley for hours trying to come up with a plan. Jayne had finally asked the question that they both had been thinking since they'd returned to Serenity.

"Probably not. I'm willing to bet they took them to the Academy where River used to be. It took Simon three years and his entire fortune to break just her outta there. The chances of us getting three of them out of there are pretty slim." Zoe finally admitted sadly.

"We can't just leave em there!" Kaylee suddenly shouted from the doorway.

Jayne and Zoe both jumped in surprise, they had thought Kaylee had cried herself to sleep a few hours before.

"I'm sorry Kaylee I don't want to say it, but I just don't know how we can get them out of there." Zoe whispered.

Without another word Kaylee ran from the room. She ran straight to her and Simon's bunk and from under their bed pulled out the locked chest that Simon had brought with him aboard Serenity. She had never looked into the box and Simon had never taken it out or gone through it that she knew of. She had always figured it contained things from his old life that he didn't want to be reminded of. Before Kaylee would never have even considered looking into the box without Simon's permission, but if there was anything in its contents that could save her husband Kaylee was willing to look.

Using a wrench that she had left in the room earlier Kaylee broke the lock on the chest and opened it. To her relief the first thing she was a large stack of papers and she was hopeful that something in them would help. She quickly began searching through the papers and found a great many documents important to Simon. He and River's birth certificates and ids were on top along with Simon's medical license. Underneath those were the letters River had sent Simon from the Academy. She put these aside hoping that perhaps they could gain information or clues from the letters. She reached the last of the papers and still hadn't found anything really helpful, until she noticed a small slip of paper that had fallen from the stack onto the floor. The slip of paper was worn and River imagined that Simon had kept it with him and held it many times. It contained only the name Rex and the name of a bar. It wasn't much but Kaylee hoped it was a clue that could possible save her husband.

Kaylee ran back into the galley and threw the scarp of paper onto the table between Zoe and Jayne.

"Rex? What is this?" Jayne asked.

"I found it in the trunk that Simon keeps all the stuff he brought with him in. I thought maybe this could help." Kaylee explained hopefully.

"Not sure how much this is gonna help us mei-mei." Zoe replied.

"But maybe this is the name of the contact who helped him sneak River out the first time." Kaylee pointed out.

"We have nothing else to go on. I'll set a course for Osiris." Zoe said and headed towards the bridge.

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Simon slammed his fists into the wall of the cell he'd been placed in. It was a small white room padded on the floor, walls, and ceilings. The only objects in the room were a small cot built into one of the walls and a toilet built into another. He'd been in the room for hours and his patience was almost completely gone. He paced around the room cursing and slamming his fists into the padding, wishing that the walls were hard enough to hurt his hands, he would have welcomed the pain if it would allow him to let out some of his anger and fear.

Finally he fell onto the cot in exhaustion and sat staring at the door. Simon couldn't help but wonder if River had been kept in a room like this the first time she'd been here. He finally felt his eyes grow heavy and slipped into a troubled sleep.

The door to his cell opening woke him immediately. He stood up and prepared to fight whoever was coming into the room.

He stopped however when the person who entered turned out to be his mother. It was so strange to see her standing before him after so long.

"Hello Simon." She said calmly in that refined tone of voice she'd always had.

"Mother. Is father here too?" Simon replied.

Reagan laughed at Simon's question and looked at him as if he were an idiot. "Of course not. You think your father knew about this? He's as clueless today as he was the day we brought you home from the hospital. Oh and why not drop the pretense of calling me mother? You and I both know it isn't true." Reagan said coldly.

"Well I guess I thought since you raised me from infancy maybe you had some sort of attachment." Simon spit at her, hating himself for feeling hurt at her words.

Reagan Tam smiled at Simon and it was that one facial expression that made Simon realize exactly what kind of woman she was. This wasn't the mother he'd believed her to be his entire life, that had all been an act, he knew that now. The high society, loving, but somewhat cold wife and mother; that had never been her. She smiled at him now as if she had never seen him as a son, she smiled at him like she didn't even think of him as human. It was a greedy smile of self interest, one that said she had gotten her prey and that was all that mattered.

"Emotional attachment is one of man kind's greatest weaknesses. I raised you and your sister because someone from the program had to do it, but I didn't get attached. It would have just caused problems later." She said with absolutely no emotion in her voice.

"Oh like when you began to cut into River's brain? When you traumatized her and drove her to insanity? Yes good thing you weren't attached or that might have been difficult." Simon snarled, wanting nothing more in the world than to tear her apart with his bare hands.

"The insanity was an unfortunate side effect, but even you have to admit how amazing the results are. And now that we've refined the technique, hopefully the side effects won't be as severe." Reagan replied showing interest in something they were talking about for the first time.

"How exactly do you plan to cut up her brain again? You've already done the damage, are you really planning on cutting more of her brain away?" Simon asked.

"No of course not. We won't be doing the procedure on River, we'll be doing it on you. It should be interesting to see how similar the results will be in siblings." Reagan informed him, again with no emotion.

Simon felt his heart stop for a second at her words and a cold panic filled him. He tensed up suddenly ready to use every single fighting skill he'd learned in the last year. He didn't care if there were a thousand men out there; he'd fight until he was free or until they killed him. Anything was better than having his brain cut up. Simon lunged towards Reagan; his fist ready to deliver a killing blow to her throat, but she stepped to the side and hit him in the kidneys causing him to fall to his knees.

Never in his life had Simon seen Reagan do anything extremely physical, especially anything that resembled fighting. The way she had avoided his blow showed she had obviously had combat training and as Simon tried to get his breath back he was once again struck by how much of his life before had been a lie.

Simon forced himself to his feet prepared to fight again, but before he was able to even fully stand Reagan jammed a needle into his arm. Simon's legs turned to rubber almost the second the drugs hit his blood stream and in seconds his vision grew fuzzy and everything he heard seemed to be coming from far away.

"Prep him for surgery. I want to start the procedure as soon as possible." He distantly heard Reagan say to an unseen source.

Those were the last words Simon heard before he lost consciousness.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Mal's world began to grow fuzzy as he was wheeled down a long hallway, his shoulder was still seeping blood and the blood loss was beginning to take its toll on him. Finally he was wheeled into a bright white infirmary. He lay there in silence for a few minutes, alone with his worried thoughts of River until a tall woman walked in. She was pretty but looked hard and cold.

"Captain Reynolds a pleasure to have you here." She said professionally as if they were having a business lunch.

"Mind me askin who the ruttin hell you are?" Mal asked.

"I'd have thought you would have figured that out by now. I'm Reagan Tam; Simon and River's mother, well adopted mother." She replied and then walked over so that she was standing directly over Mal looking down into his face.

"So you're the man who helped release the Miranda broadcast. Impressive. You have been a serious problem to the Alliance for a long time." Reagan said.

"And you're the bitch who let a bunch of hun-dans cut up your daughter's brain and try to destroy her." Mal snapped.

"I wasn't trying to destroy River. I designed that program for her and Simon. Look at what River can do, I've made her brain more powerful than anyone's in the Verse. I'm sure you can't tell me that her abilities have not come in handy while she has been living on your ship." Reagan replied sounding immensely proud of the things she had done to her child.

"True the things she can do have come in handy. But I'd trade those abilities in a second if it would make her better. If her not being a reader could stop the nightmares and psychotic episodes I'd be glad for her to just be normal." Mal answered.

"You have feelings for River don't you Captain Reynolds?" Reagan asked.

He considered lying about being married to River, but figured she could find out easy enough if she wanted, plus River may have said something already.

"Course I have feelings for her, she's my wife!"

For a second Reagan lost her composed look and actually seemed surprised.

"I wasn't aware that River was married." Reagan commented.

"Simon's married too. Just goes ta show that no matter what ya tried to do to em you didn't break either of em." Mal said, allowing her to hear every bit of anger and resentment he felt towards her.

Mal's mother had loved him with her whole heart and had taught him that family was the most precious thing in the entire Verse. He couldn't seem to wrap his brain around how a mother could treat her children like this.

"Captain Reynolds I have never intended to destroy River or Simon for that matter. Can't you understand I created them to be something special. From before they were born I designed them to be extraordinary and all I have done their entire lives is work to see that they fulfill their potential. Once I've finished with Simon he will be every bit as powerful as River. They will be the two greatest assets the Alliance has ever had." Reagan explained smugly.

Mal blinked and tried to remain conscious, but felt a heavy sleepiness trying to take him over.

"You ain't gonna cut up his brain the way ya did River's?" He asked and noticed that he was slurring his words.

"I'm going to fix his brain to make it work at its full capacity." Reagan replied.

"Simmons get in here!" Reagan suddenly shouted.

A doctor walked into the room immediately followed by two nurses.

"Captain Reynolds seems to be bleeding quite a lot. Fix that and get him stable I have a great many plans for him." Reagan instructed and then walked briskly from the room.

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River sat with her knees pulled to her chest and rocked back and forth on her bunk. She had been placed in a small padded cell identical to the one she had spent three years living in when she had been here before. River tried hard to maintain her grasp on reality but found it hard to do. Her worst fear had just been realized and she felt more alone than she ever had.

Suddenly it occurred to River that she wasn't entirely alone. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath and forced her mind to focus in on herself. And suddenly there it was, for the first time since she'd learned she was pregnant she could sense the babies. It wasn't so much sensing their consciousness, they were too young for that, but she could feel two tiny sparks of life within her. She couldn't tell if the sedatives she'd been given had hurt them but they were both alive and for the moment that was enough of a comfort for River.

After searching internally for the babies River sent her mind out searching for her brother and husband. Simon she sensed almost instantly. He was close by from what she could tell and very angry. Mal was harder to find, but she could sense him faintly after a few minutes of searching. He was angry like Simon and like Simon scared for her and himself. It frightened River greatly when she suddenly could not sense Mal's thoughts or emotions any longer. She didn't think he was dead because she knew if that were the case she would be aware of it. But he was unconscious and she didn't know why. Ten minutes after stopped sensing Mal she stopped sensing Simon as well. The two men she loved more than anything in the world were being held by monsters and both of them were unconscious and helpless.

River again felt that feeling of helplessness and began to rock back and forth as she hugged her knees and tried not to cry.

She knew that her mother was on her way before the door to her room opened. When it did open River was curled in the fetal position facing the wall. Without turning to face the door she sighed and said, "Hello Reagan."

"Dropped the mother already have we? That's probably for the best." Reagan said. Internally she was impressed with the way River had identified her without having to look and see who it was.

"Its good to have you home where you belong River." Reagan told her.

"This isn't my home. Never was, never will be. My home is in the sky." River said to the wall still refusing to turn and look at Reagan.

"You may think that now, but once we finish the program that your brother interrupted you'll see that this is the only place for you." Reagan replied with confidence.

Finally River turned and looked Reagan dead in the eye. It was a look so cold and menacing that Reagan involuntarily shuddered a little. She more than anyone knew exactly how dangerous River could be.

"River you have a bullet wound that needs to be looked at. I'm going to send a medic in to take care of it. If you hurt him or try to escape I'll make sure that your husband is killed immediately. Do you understand?" Reagan threatened and held up a comm unit to show River she was serious.

River nodded slowly and tried not to let the fear she felt for Mal show on her face.

A young doctor walked into the small cell and sat beside her on the cot. He pulled up her sleeve and began to examine the bullet wound she'd received when the bullet had gone through Mal and hit her.

"It's just a flesh wound. It won't even require suturing, I just need to clean it up and then put a weave on it." The medic informed Reagan.

Reagan nodded but didn't reply to the young doctor. Instead she focused once again on River.

"Your brother and husband have both told me how much damage was done to your brain from the procedures, but I must say you seem extremely coherent to me. I think perhaps they exaggerate just how broken you are."

"I'm only sane now because I've worked very hard to control what was done to me. And because I have many people who love me and who have helped me learn to deal with the horrors that this place inflicted on me." River answered.

"Horrors indeed. Was it really so terrible?" Reagan asked.

"Terrible? Terrible doesn't begin to describe it. I was fifteen when I learned about Miranda. I had the knowledge of thirty million dead people in my head and was so confused I couldn't explain what it was even to myself. Can you imagine how much that secret destroyed me?" River replied her voice beginning to finally reflect the anger she felt towards her mother.

"You learning of Miranda was unfortunate I'll admit. But everything I had done to you was a necessary evil. Once your brother has the procedure done we'll begin teaching the two of you exactly what you were designed for." Reagan promised as if this was supposed to make River happy.

River wanted to scream at Reagan. She would even have been willing to fall to her knees and beg if she thought it would convince Reagan to leave Simon alone. But River knew that nothing she would say would change Simon's fate. She could already sense that the procedure had begun. Hot tears of worry and regret fell down her cheeks. After everything Simon had done for her, she would give anything in the Verse to protect him from this.

"You're a monster." River whispered to Reagan.

"I simply do what is required of me River. The plans for you and your brother were in place long before either of you were born. Your brother's interference has caused a delay in those plans, but finally they can continue."

River lay back down on the cot and turned so she was again facing the wall. She had nothing more to say to the woman who she had once called mother.

"That's good River, get plenty of rest. The next few days will be difficult for you I imagine, but once you're reprogrammed things will be much easier." Reagan said and then left the room locking River up once again.

River pulled her knees up so that she lay in the fetal position and she began to cry again. Memories of the reprogramming room wouldn't leave her alone. That room was the entire reason River hated the infirmary on Serenity so much. They both had the same sterile white medical look to them. It was the room in which the worst of River's torments had been inflicted on her. Needles stuck in her brain sending electrical currents to different thought centers, brain washing, and torture for non compliance were just a few of the things that had been done to her in that room.

River lay on her cot and prayed for salvation, she prayed for rescue, she even prayed for death; anything to keep her from being taken into that room the following day.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was the noise that pulled Simon out of the anesthesia. The entire room seemed to be a bedlam of noises. It pounded into his skull painfully and made him put his hands over his ears to try and block out the sounds. He forced his eyes open and tried to clear his mind from the effects of the drugs.

Simon winced when he moved his head and felt a sharp pain at the back of his skull. Once his eyes were open what Simon saw shocked him. The room was empty and quiet. Yet he could still hear what seemed to be a thousand voices talking at once.

Dread and panic slammed down on him when he realized that the voices were in his head.

The procedure had worked and Simon was reading people from all over the hospital.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

River's body jerked off the mattress as she jolted awake. She hadn't meant to fall asleep, but the pregnancy mixed with stress was the perfect recipe for exhaustion.

She stood up and stretched; breathing deeply to try and clear her head from the sleep. Once she felt awake she reached out with her mind in search of Mal and Simon. Mal was asleep, but seemed to be unharmed. Simon on the other hand was not doing well.

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Simon lay in a hospital bed curled into a small tight ball. He pressed his hands tightly over his ears; his finger nails digging into his skull. He did this even though he realized it was useless, logically he knew that the noises he heard were not in his ears but in his brain.

He also felt a torment worse than any he'd ever known to finally realize what his mei-mei had gone through. It was like a dagger in the heart to know that nothing he had done had ever helped her. There couldn't possibly be a drug or therapy that could help this.

He knew now why she had seemed so unstable. It was the feelings. The waves of foreign emotions were overwhelming in a way he couldn't process. It wasn't that suddenly he knew how the people around him were feeling. He felt what they felt. A nurse who came in to change his iv she felt such pity and sadness for him that he was brought to tears.

It must have been excruciating for River on Serenity. They were a crew of people who were all emotionally charged and she had been stuck in a small space with them day after day. It was no wonder she had hidden herself away and seemed distant for so long.

Thoughts of River helped distract Simon from the constant roar of voices in his head for a few seconds and the relief he felt was immense. Unfortunately the reprieve was short lived and abruptly the thoughts of so many people crashed and pounded their way into his head. He moaned out loud and pulled himself into a tighter ball and began to rock back and forth. Vaguely at the back of his mind he was aware that he must look very similar to the way his sister had looked during her worst episodes.

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Zoe walked into the Hangman's Noose determinedly. It was a seedy hole in the wall located down a dark alley in a black out zone on Osiris. Jayne and Kaylee walked in behind Zoe; Jayne looked right at home and Kaylee looked like she was going to burst into tears at any second.

"What can I get you folks?" The bartender asked as the group walked up to the bar.

"Whiskey for me." Zoe said and Jayne grunted in agreement.

"Same here." Kaylee said and received surprised looks from the bartender, Zoe, and Jayne.

They were all three even more surprised when she grabbed her shot and pounded it down without even a grimace.

After Zoe and Jayne had finished their whiskey Zoe turned to the bartender.

"We're lookin for a man named Rex. Any idea how we might go about findin him?" Zoe asked her voice low so as not to draw unwanted attention.

"Rex huh? Sorry don't know any Rex." The bartender stated quickly, a little too quickly.

"Please, we need his help." Kaylee asked her eyes large and pleading.

Jayne had to work hard to suppress a smirk; he could see the bartender's resolve crumbling right in front of him. Jayne hadn't met a man yet who could resist those big eyes of Kaylee's. And when a lone tear ran down her cheek Jayne knew for sure that the bartender was done for.

"Through the door past the bathrooms. Tall black guy you'll know him when you see 'im." The bartender revealed with a sigh.

Zoe gave the bartender a nod of thanks and tossed a few coins on the bar to pay for the drinks and the information. The three turned and hurried down the hall past the bathrooms. They pushed through the door and found a group of men sitting around a table involved in a poker game. True to the bartender's word one of the men was a tall black man who had a large pile of chips in front of him.

"This is a private game. Ya'll wanna be heading back up front." He grumbled and pointed towards the door behind them.

"We're lookin for Rex, bartender out front says that's you." Jayne replied, sounding every bit as gruff as Rex had.

"So? What the hell ya lookin fer me for?" Rex asked without taking his eyes off of his cards.

"We were hoping you could help us." Kaylee blurted out.

"Help ya? How in the hell am I gonna help you?"

"We need your help to get people out of the Academy." Kaylee revealed.

Rex's head jerked up at her words and his eyes darkened. He quickly pulled a gun from under the table and aimed it at the three. Zoe and Jayne pulled their guns and aimed right back. The other three men at the table looked bored with the happenings and left the room to go get a drink.

"How the fuck did you get my name?" Rex asked angrily.

"I- well I went through my husband's things and found the name of this bar and your name on a slip of paper." Kaylee whispered.

"Who's your husband?" He asked suspiciously.

"Simon Tam." Kaylee answered.

"I already helped him get his sis out. Who the hell else does he wanna spring from that place?" Rex asked.

"It's him we wanna get out and his sister and our captain. They captured them two days ago on Persephone." Kaylee replied.

Jayne thought about stepping in and taking over talking to Rex, but Kaylee seemed to be doing fine. Plus as he'd thought before she was really good at getting her way with men. Her feminine wiles although not professional could rival Inara's.

"Tam paid me a large amount a coin ta break his sister out. S'gonna be three times what he paid ta get three people outta there. If it can be done at all which I ain't sayin it can."

Kaylee's face fell at his words and she again looked like she was going to cry.

"We don't got that kinda coin." She whimpered.

"Sorry then can't help ya." Rex said coldly.

Kaylee approached him despite the gun he still held on them. She fell to her knees in front of him and put her forehead on his knee and began to cry. Rex looked at Zoe with a look of panic and discomfort. But it was only a half minute later that his tough expression began to crumble and his hand found its way to her back and rubbed it comfortingly.

"Please Simon's my husband and River is my sister in law, but she's as close to me as if she were my own kin. And Mal is like my big brother. I can't lose them, they're my family. Plus River's pregnant, with twins. We can't leave her babies there, think of what them monsters will do to those innocent babies when they're born." Kaylee pleaded without looking up.

Rex placed a hand under her chin and brought her face up so that he could look into her face.

"You remind me of Lacey. She was my little sis. She died in the Academy. They told my folks she killed herself, but Lacey woulda never done that. I found out later that she bled to death when they were cutting on her brain." Rex whispered to Kaylee having completely forgotten about the other two in the room.

"Then please help us. You lost your sister, please help me from losing mine." Kaylee begged.

Rex wiped a tear off of Kaylee's cheek and nodded his head.

"Alright I'll help ya. It ain't gonna be easy and I really don't know if it'll even be possible. But you're right I don't want anyone else losin their family ta that place and we can't leave them little babies in there, no tellin what will happen to em."

Kaylee's face broken into the classic Kaylee grin that could warm even the coldest of hearts. She jumped up and flung her arms around Rex's neck.

"I can't thank you enough." She whispered into his ear as Rex tried to disentangle himself from Kaylee's grip.

"Don't thank me yet. We gotta lot of work ahead of us." Rex replied as he holstered his gun and gestured for the crew of Serenity to sit down at the table.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mal couldn't tell how long he had been in the bright white room. He'd woken up from surgery to find himself strapped into a chair in the middle of the room. He figured it had been at least five hours, but it seemed like it had been so much longer.

Ten long thin needles had been shoved into his head when he'd woken up. At first he had thought that the men in the room were just going to torture him, but now he knew that the needles actually had a purpose. One of the men would push a button and Mal's body would stiffen and jerk as electricity passed through the needle and directly into his brain.

He wasn't sure what the purpose of this was, but from the way the technicians were talking there was a specific reason he was being subjected to this pain.

After another series of painful shocks Reagan Tam walked into the room.

"How is he progressing?" She asked as she leaned over to read something over one of the technician's shoulders.

"Very well Ma'am. His alpha and beta waves are almost completely switched. He'll be ready for reprogramming within the hour." The technician informed her with a smile.

"Very good. Please call me when you're ready to begin. I want to reprogram this one myself." Reagan instructed and then swept from the room as quickly as she had come.

Without warning the technician began to jolt Mal again. His back arched against the chair as he struggled to resist the waves of pain running through him. Once the electrical currents stopped their assault on his body Mal struggled to draw a ragged breath into his burning lungs. He didn't pray for himself but once again found himself praying that River was not being subjected to this same treatment, she'd already been through this once in her life. The rational part of Mal's brain however was pretty sure she was probably going through the same thing he was.

"Page Colonel Tam. He's ready to begin reprogramming and she wants to do it herself." The technician who had been shocking Mal instructed one of the other men in the room.

Reagan entered the room five minutes later.

"He's ready?" She asked.

"Yes Ma'am. I haven't injected him with the LC-16 yet I wasn't sure how much you wanted to start him on."

"Give him the maximum dose. We have much work to do and a limited amount of time." Reagan instructed.

"The maximum dose Ma'am? Isn't that dangerous?" The technician asked.

"If it kills him or drives him insane we won't have lost much. Speed is of the essence right now." Reagan explained.

Mal felt his blood run cold at her words. He had no clue what LC-16 was, but whatever it was he was sure he didn't want to be injected with it. Once again he fought uselessly against the restraints binding him to the chair. Before long the technician approached him with a syringe full of clear liquid. Mal was held down so securely he couldn't even attempt to pull his arm away from the needle.

"Don't worry Captain Reynolds, once that kicks in you won't be nearly so concerned with your current situation." Reagan said when she saw the glare he was directing towards her.

"Mind tellin me what it was ya just shot inta my arm?" Mal asked.

"Oh you'll see soon enough what the LC-16 does. Let's just say it helps your brain accept its new programming much easier. Soon you'll see an entirely new way of thinking and I promise you life will be so much easier after that." Reagan told him in a sickly sweet tone of voice.

Mal started to feel the effects of the drug. The walls behind Reagan began to bend and undulate as if the whole room were breathing. The lights located around the room on various control panels began to take on a bright halo effect that was stunningly beautiful.

No one on Serenity, not even Zoe, was aware that Mal had experimented with drugs as a teenager. He'd lived on a small ranching planet with not a lot in the way of entertainment for adolescents. He and his friends had spent most of their sixteenth and seventeenth years tripping on hallucinogenic mushrooms that grew wild on Shadow.

The LC-16 reminded him of those times as a teenager, but not anywhere near as fun and much much stronger.

"Lets give it ten minutes to take full effect and then begin the program." Reagan said. To Mal the words sounded warped and seemed to bounce around the room.

He lolled his head back against the chair and stared at the ceiling. He tried to stay focused on his current situation, but his brain refused to focus on any one thing for more than a few seconds. It seemed like hours later when he heard Reagan instruct the technicians to begin the reprogramming. But by that point he was so far gone he couldn't even manage to be concerned with whatever was coming.

His head was pushed back against the chair and a strap was placed along his forehead so that Mal could no longer even move his head freely. After his head was immobilized clips were placed onto his eyelids so that he could no longer blink. His chair then reclined so that he was looking up at the ceiling. One of the technicians pushed a screen over so that it was directly above Mal's face.

The lights in the room flicked off and the screen flashed to life. Clips flashed quickly before Mal's eyes. Families eating together at a dinner table, happy children running in a sunny park, a couple holding their new born child and countless other happy clips flashed across the screen. These happy clips were intermittently replaced by large white words on a black back ground. These words included things like; **Assimilate**, **Follow**, **Loyalty**, **Hero**, and **Alliance**.

After hours of these bright happy images darker clips began to appear becoming more and more bloody and violent as the hours wore on. These images included; bloody battlefields littered with bodies, children blown apart and burned from fire bombs, families lying dead in their home bullet holes through each of their foreheads and many other depictions of violence and horror. Like the first series of images these too included words that would randomly flash onto the screen.

The words that played now included; **Death**, **Torture**, **Betrayal**, **Trader**, and **Browncoat**.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Seems you left out a very important piece information when we spoke yesterday River." Reagan said as she walked into River's cell.

"I don't believe I shared any important information with you yesterday." River replied.

"Good point, but you don't think it would have been nice to let me know I'm going to be a grandmother?" Reagan asked kindly.

"You aren't my mother, not even my adopted one you bitch." River replied icily.

"Such language. I raised you better than that River."

"You didn't raise me either; Simon and the nannies raised me. You're just the cold hearted witch who spent my entire life preparing to betray me. You know you'll burn in Hell for what you've done." River informed her in a purely conversational tone as if they were talking about nothing more important than the weather.

"That's a matter of opinion. But you being pregnant does interfere with my plans a bit. You see I had planned on reprogramming you to the fullest extent, but my superiors are very interested in your baby and I can't risk the fetus' health. So we'll have to change the plans around a little bit. Not really a big deal I'm very good at adapting." Reagan explained.

"Well I bet you're interested in an update on your family aren't you? Simon came through the surgery with flying colors. He is already displaying reading abilities. And your husband he's being reprogrammed right now. He's been in the white room for five hours and I believe we're already seeing results."

River flinched involuntarily to learn that Mal had been in the white room for five hours. She knew just how much could be done to someone in that room in five hours.

"Anderson get in here." Reagan said into a comm unit.

A few minutes later a young soldier entered the room. He looked terrified and River figured he had been well briefed as to the extent of her powers.

"Lieutenant Anderson will be taking you down to the reprogramming room, the same deal applies as yesterday. If you attack him or try to escape your husband dies immediately. Understand?" Reagan asked River.

River nodded slowly and felt tears fill her eyes. She stood up and held out her wrists obediently so that cuffs could be applied to them. Once her hands were restrained Anderson grabbed her by the upper arm and led her out of the cell. River's feet seemed to grow heavier and heavier as she was led towards the white room that she feared so much.

She knew instantly when they passed the reprogramming room that Mal was being kept in. She could sense his mind clearly enough, although the drugs they had given him made it impossible to read anything specific from him.

It was the same routine that she knew from years ago. She was led into the room, strapped down to the chair, and injected with a sedative. Before long her eyes began to grow heavy and just before she fell asleep she saw the long shining needle that would soon be inserted into her brain. She was thankful for the sedative and slipped into unconsciousness before she could feel anything.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You really think there's a chance of this workin?" Jayne asked as he looked over the schematics for the Academy one more time.

"Its chancy but there's a chance if everything goes off without a hitch." Rex replied.

Zoe and Jayne both exchanged smirks and Kaylee had to suppress a giggle.

"You really don't know the crew you're dealing with." Zoe muttered.

"So you sure this nurse'll help us?" Jayne asked for what was probably the hundredth time.

"I trust Rebecca with everything I got. She's the one who helped Simon get River out the first time and she's the one who got me all the info. bout my sis. She only keeps her job with them hun-dans so she can work against em from the inside." Rex replied confidently giving the same answer he'd given a hundred times before.

"If she back stabs us we'll be caught fer sure." Jayne warned as if Rex didn't know this.

"She won't." The large man answered.

"You sure you're up for this Lil' Kaylee?" Jayne asked noticing the dark circles under the mechanic's eyes. He was pretty sure she hadn't slept once since Simon had been taken.

"If it gets em back, I'll be up for anything we gotta do." Kaylee answered once again showing that she might have a soft heart but she had a spine of steel.

"Well let's get goin then." Jayne said impatiently as he finished strapping his weapons on.

The four of them climbed into the Mule and set out for the hospital that served as a front for the Academy.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

River woke up groggily and tried to push away the pounding pain in her head. Things were happening exactly as they had the first time she had been at the Academy. The only difference was this time River knew she had just been imbedded with a mental trigger of some sort. The horror of it was not knowing what she may be triggered to do.

River suddenly sat up and looked around the room hopefully. She could sense the others coming for them. She could feel Kaylee's fear and determination and knew that she, Jayne, and Zoe must be close. The reader was pleased to see that she hadn't been put back into her cell, but was instead lying in a hospital bed with monitors attached to her. Her hands had been restrained, but River was more flexible than they realized and was able to bend enough to undo one of the restraints with her teeth. After that she was untied within seconds. Once she was free she quickly rewired the monitor she was attached to so that it would continue to register a heart beat and brain activity once she pulled the electrodes off of her body.

She slipped off the bed and had to steady herself for a minute as a wave of dizziness overtook her and she was reminded once again of her pregnancy. Looking around the room she quickly determined that her clothes were not in the room and she would have to make her escape in the hospital gown she was currently wearing.

By listening at the door she knew when the hallway was empty and she slipped from her room without being seen. River had only walked a few feet when she sensed Simon behind one of the doors and quickly ducked into his room.

River had known that the procedure had been performed on Simon, but seeing the results were something she was unprepared for. Simon lay curled into a ball on the bed, he rocked back and forth, and she could see him muttering to himself under his breath. She remembered back to the day when they had done the first surgery on her and how painful it had been to wake up and suddenly be able to read everything around her.

"Simon hey it's River. Can you hear me?" River asked as she leaned down so that she was next to his face.

River took a deep breath and forced her mind to be calm and serene, then she focused those thoughts towards Simon, hoping that he would benefit from the feelings she was sending him.

Simon looked at her with unfocused and panicked eyes for a second before they cleared and he was able to focus on his sister.

"River? What are you doing in here? If they catch you…" Simon whispered in a raspy voice.

"Shhh… don't worry. We're getting out of here. The others are on their way for us. Can you walk?" She asked and helped Simon to sit up. She winced when she noticed that the back of his head had been shaved and he had a bandage covering what was obviously a large incision.

Simon nodded and sat up slowly. He swayed a little as he stood up, but remained vertical and with River's help made his way to the door. River again listened at the door until she was sure the coast was clear. Just as she began to pull Simon from the room he grabbed her and pulled her back into the room.

"Wait, Kaylee's here." Simon whispered. He had a far off look in his eyes and had his head cocked to the side.

River had the very creepy sensation of seeing what she must look like while she was reading.

"Go now!" Simon said urgently and pushed River into the hall.

The second both of them had entered the hallway all of the lights suddenly turned off. River smiled at the genius of her sister in law and took off down the hall pulling Simon with her.

Just as they reached the end of the hall River turned the corner and ran straight into a nurse. Her heart sank straight to the floor when she saw the nurse and realized that their escape plan had failed.

"River I'm here to help get you out of here." The nurse whispered to her.

River looked at her suspiciously and tried to read her for any signs of dishonesty.

"We can trust her. I remember her from after the surgery, she wanted to help me then." Simon told River.

Trusting her big brother like always River obediently followed the nurse down the darkened hallway.

River stopped instantly as they reached the hallway that led to the reprogramming rooms. She could feel Mal inside the room to her right. It was his mind she had no doubt of that, but it was so changed she almost didn't recognize her husband.

"Mal is down there." River said nodding towards the room.

Simon nodded and immediately moved down the hall to the reprogramming room.

The nurse and Simon entered the room without hesitation but River stopped at the door dreading what she would see inside. Taking a deep breath she hurried into the room, knowing they didn't have much time.

Mal was strapped into the medical chair that was in the center of the room. He was completely strapped down and had a series of needles stuck into his head. His eyes were glazed over and unfocused from the drugs he'd been given.

"Mal? It's me ai-ren. It's River. We're going to get you out of here." River whispered and began to remove the needles from Mal's head carefully. Mal never flinched or blinked while River removed the needles or un-strapped him from the chair.

She grabbed his upper arm and helped him stand from the chair. He wobbled dangerously once he was on his feet, but the nurse and River took his arms over their shoulders and supported him as they left the room.

Two guards were running down the hall and stopped when they saw their three most important prisoners out in the hall and not tied up. River took them out before they could radio for help and they continued towards the fire exit at the end of the hall.

River stopped suddenly as they passed the last reprogramming room. She pushed the door open even as Simon and the nurse protested behind her. There was a subject in this room as well. She was strapped down in the chair just as Mal had been, but had obviously been there longer judging by the ravaged look she had.

River hurried over and began taking the needles out of the woman and untying her as well.

"River we don't have time for this." Simon whispered.

"Please just help me Simon." River pleaded as she continued to pull needles from the woman's skull.

"Alright." Simon muttered, he knew he would never be able to live with himself if he left someone in this situation when he had the chance to help them.

Simon ignored the pounding pain in his head and picked up the woman, shocked by how light and emaciated she was.

"Oh wuh de ma!" Simon said in horror when he finally recognized the broken woman.

"Inara? Jesus what did they do to you?" Simon asked as he carried the unconscious companion from the room.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The escape from the Academy went off exactly as Rex and the crew of Serenity had planned, except for the fact that four people were rescued instead of three. After finding Inara the group led by Rebecca the nurse entered a fire escape door and used the stairway to make it all the way to the first floor. They ran into a total of six guards in the stairwell, each of them easily dispatched by River without any of them having the chance to call for help.

The fire escape door on the first floor led directly to an outside exit. This exit was usually heavily guarded, but by using the pass codes stolen by Rebecca and some handy computer work by Kaylee every guard assigned to that exit was suddenly summoned to another place.

It was a trick fitting everyone onto the Mule, but they were able to manage. Zoe and Kaylee both thanked Rebecca immensely for her help and she quickly disappeared back into the Academy. Jayne was shocked when they weren't followed or detained at any point on their return to Serenity.

"How come that was so damn easy?" Jayne asked feeling slightly disappointed that he hadn't even fired a single shot during the rescue.

"The Academy lost nearly half their funding when the Miranda broadcast was issued. They don't have the security features that were in place the first time River was rescued." Rex explained as he helped Jayne get Mal to the infirmary.

"What the hell'd they do to 'im?" Jayne asked and nodded his head towards Mal.

Mal hadn't spoken or reacted since they'd taken him from the white room.

"Behavioral modification most likely. They use a combination of electrical stimulus to the brain, hallucinogenic drugs, and brain washing to change their subjects thought patterns." Rex explained and gave Mal a look of pity.

"S' he gonna be ok?" Jayne asked.

"I don't know. Hopefully with time he'll recover, but there's really no telling how much damage they did to him. Or to her." Rex said and pointed to the other table where Inara lay; still unconscious.

"We need ta leave here as soon as possible. Rex unless you're planning on coming with us I'd say you should probably get off now." Zoe instructed as she walked into the infirmary.

Rex nodded and held out a hand to Jayne and then shook Zoe's hand as well.

"I don't know how ta thank you fer what ya did." Kaylee said and pulled Rex into a crushing embrace.

"I'm glad I could help. Ain't no one deserves ta be in that place." Rex replied as he returned Kaylee's hug awkwardly.

"You take good care a this family a yours. I'd say you got a long road ahead of you." Rex told her and then turned and left the ship.

They were in the Black fifteen minutes later. Once Zoe set in a course and put the ship on auto pilot she hurried to the infirmary.

Inara was still unconscious on the table. Zoe couldn't believe the condition the companion was in. True she hadn't seen Inara in over a year, but Zoe knew what had been done to her had happened recently. Inara was painfully thin, there were dark circles under her eyes, and needle marks circling her entire head. She also had bruises and cuts on her from where she'd obviously struggled against her restraints.

Zoe's eyes slid from Inara to Mal. She wasn't sure if Mal was unconscious or not. His eyes were open, but he didn't seem to be registering anything that was going on around him. He didn't look as bad as Inara, but it was obvious that he'd undergone the same torture that she had.

"Hey Sir. Can you hear me? We got ya outta that place, your back on Serenity. Mal?" Zoe asked and stepped over to Mal's side so that she could look down into his face.

Mal continued to stare blankly ahead until Zoe moved into his view point. He blinked once and drew in a sharp breath. Before Zoe could react Mal was off the table and on top of her, his hands around her throat. Zoe let out a surprised yelp that was choked off by Mal's hands squeezing tightly around her neck. The two of them stumbled backwards until Zoe hit the counter.

"Fucking browncoat." Mal muttered as he continued to strangle his best friend. Zoe struggled against Mal for another thirty seconds before she was able to bring a knee up into his groin. Mal groaned and fell to his knees. Zoe used the chance and ran to the door, she wasn't able to get out before Mal grabbed her by the hair and pulled her back. Zoe lunged forward and slammed her hand onto the comm on the wall.

"Get down here Mals…" She screamed and was cut off when Mal again began to choke her.

Before Zoe could blink River hurried into the room and kicked Mal in the jaw. His head snapped back and his eyes rolled up into his head as he crumpled to the floor. Zoe sucked in a wheezing breath and stared at Mal in shock.

"What the hell did they do to him?" She whispered in a hoarse voice.

"Hurt his brain, changed it, confused it. He wants to be the old Mal, but the things they did won't let him." River explained sounding close to tears as she knelt down and lovingly checked Mal's pulse. "We need to restrain him before he wakes up." She added and looked up at Zoe.

Zoe nodded and yelled for Jayne. The two of them lifted Mal to the bed and River applied restraints to his wrists and ankles.

"Where's Simon? Shouldn't he be in here?" Jayne asked.

"He isn't doing well. Kaylee is trying to calm him." River explained.

"What exactly happened to them in there? And to you?" Zoe asked with concern. She couldn't believe the state her crew members were, what had been done to them in only two days time.

"Mal has been reprogrammed." River said. Seeing the blank looks on her crew members faces she put it more simply. "Brainwashed."

Jayne and Zoe's faces both took on a dark look of horror when they realized what River meant.

"And Simon?" Zoe asked after a moment.

"They cut into his brain. Stripped the Amygdala just like they did to me. He's a reader now." River informed them sadly.

Zoe looked at the younger girl closely for the first time since they had returned to the ship. Since River had been the most coherent of the group Zoe had assumed she hadn't been harmed by the Academy. But now she noticed that River's face was pale and pinched with pain, plus Zoe could make out two needle marks just above her temples. She was handling whatever had been done to her remarkably. Zoe couldn't imagine how she was holding it together considering what had been done not only to her but to her husband and brother as well.

"River you should go get some sleep. All that's happened the last two days can't be good for you or the babies. We'll keep an eye on Mal and Inara, Kaylee can look after Simon." Zoe encouraged as she pushed River towards her and Mal's bunk.

"No I should stay with Mal. And Inara needs to have an iv started and Simon will probably need a smoother." River protested and then staggered into the wall.

"I'll take care of it River. Trust me. You go get some sleep." Zoe ordered and pushed River towards her room again.

Once River had disappeared Zoe returned to the infirmary. Jayne saw the look on her face and quickly wrapped her into his arms.

"Cap'ns gonna be ok ya know. He's strong no matter what them hun-dans did ta him, he'll get over it." Jayne comforted her.

Zoe nodded but didn't reply. She returned his hug briefly and then pulled away and moved to the counter.

"I better go get that smoother for Simon." She said.

Zoe knocked quietly on Simon's bunk.

"Come in." Kaylee called.

Zoe entered the darkened room. Kaylee was sitting up on the bunk leaning against the wall. Simon was lying on the bed, curled into a ball, with his head resting in Kaylee's lap. He had his eyes shut, but wasn't asleep. Zoe could hear him breathing quickly and unevenly and he was rocking back and forth slightly.

"Hey Simon. River thought we should give you a smoother so you could get some rest." Zoe said quietly.

Simon opened his eyes and then squinted as if he had a headache.

"No I need to get down to the infirmary." Simon protested and stood up from the bed.

Simon walked two steps into the infirmary before he collapsed to the floor with his hands covering his ears.

"Hey doc ya'll right?" Jayne asked.

"It's just so loud. Mal and Inara even though they're both unconscious I can still hear their thoughts. It's like constant screaming in my head." Simon muttered through gritted teeth.

"Simon let me give you the smoother. They're both out so there isn't much you can do for them right now. And if ya hadn't noticed you just had brain surgery yesterday. You need time to heal and when you do wake up both of them are going to need you to be coherent, River's going to need you as well." Zoe said, knowing that mentioning River was a sure way to get through to Simon.

Simon nodded quickly and then grimaced at the pain it caused in his head. Zoe helped him to his feet and walked him back to his bunk. Once there she gave him the smoother and was relieved to see it start working almost immediately.

"Kaylee I gave Simon the smoother. He's going to sleep in your bunk if you want to sit with him." Zoe informed Kaylee who was tinkering on the engine.

"Thanks Zo. It's hurting him so much, I don't know how to help him. I feel like I'm hurting him just by being around him, by thinking." Kaylee whimpered and began to sob.

Zoe pulled her into a hug. "Hey now. Simon's a very strong man. River learned to deal with being a reader. Simon can do it to, I'm sure it will just take him some time to adjust."

Kaylee nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes before entering her bunk to stay with Simon.

Since everyone was asleep or doped up, Zoe decided they should call it an early night and set about putting the ship into night mode. Once she had checked the headings and powered down she climbed wearily into her bunk and collapsed on the bed.

Jayne climbed into bed with her twenty minutes later and Zoe gratefully curled around his body thankful for the comfort and warmth he provided.

"We were doin so good just two days ago. Crazy how fast things can fall apart." Jayne commented, echoing exactly what Zoe was thinking.

"We'll bounce back, we always do." Zoe replied as she sank into an exhausted sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

It was the dreams coming from the crew that woke Simon from his sleep. He grimaced as the pounding headache he'd had for two straight days came back with full force. He once again felt pity and guilt for his mei-mei that she'd had to suffer through this for years. If this is what they'd been able to do to him in a day he couldn't imagine what she'd gone through in three years.

Kaylee stretched beside him and opened her eyes.

"Did you sleep ai-ren?" She asked.

"Yes for awhile." Simon answered.

"How are you today?"

Simon thought over her question before answering. "Better than yesterday I guess. It's just this headache. I feel like I'd be able to think if it weren't for all the noise in my head."

Kaylee gave him a brave smile and tried to look like she wasn't worried. The problem with now being a reader was that Simon could feel the concern and pain pouring from her.

_What if he goes crazy like River did? _She thought suddenly. He heard it as clearly as if she were speaking out loud.

"That won't happen love I promise." Simon assured her.

"What won't happen?" She asked confused.

"I won't go crazy like River did. She was traumatized by Miranda that isn't going to happen to me."

Kaylee looked at him with a shocked expression on her face.

"This is going to take some getting used to. You bein in my head." Kaylee said.

"Sorry. I can't help it. The thoughts just keep popping in there. I'm not trying to hear them." Simon apologized feeling guilty to be invading his wife's privacy like that.

Kaylee smiled and laid a gentle kiss on his lips.

"This ain't yer fault Simon. I know that." She assured him lovingly.

Their conversation was interrupted then by a knock on the door.

"Simon. Mal and Inara are awake. Do you feel up to taking a look at them?" River asked as she stuck her head into the room.

"Yes, give me a minute and I'll be right there." Simon answered.

The shower he took helped some to clear his head, although the water stung the incision that ran down the back of his head. Getting dressed in his own clothes made him feel even more like himself and he began to feel hopeful that he would be able to adjust to being a reader fairly easily. This thought was dashed slightly when he entered the infirmary.

Mal and Inara's minds were both tormented and practically screaming inside his own. From Mal he felt waves of hate, confusion, and rage; but this was nothing compared to Inara's. Reading her mind was like seeing a reflection in a broken mirror. He kept getting pieces of feelings and images, but nothing complete; her mind was completely fractured. Simon shuddered and felt himself getting lost in the confusion that was once the companion's mind.

"Broken." River said suddenly as she entered the infirmary and stared down at Inara.

Simon shook his head to try and clear it.

"Yes. Is there anything that can be done for her?" Simon asked.

River remained silent as she read Inara more closely. Simon admired her bravery; he was terrified to delve deeper into the remains of Inara's mind.

"I don't know. Maybe she can find herself again, but it will take a great catalyst to bring her back." River mused looking sad.

The entire time the siblings had been conversing Inara had been watching them with wide eyes that seemed both terrified and utterly blank at the same time. Simon thought the look in her eyes was one of the most terrifying and tragic things he'd ever seen.

"Inara? Can you hear me?" Simon asked.

Inara simply continued to stare at him without any sign of recognition. When he moved closer to check her vitals she jumped violently and tried to pull away from him. Simon tried once again to check her vitals, this time Inara began to scream at the top of her lungs. She thrashed on the bed and continued to scream, one long piercing note that repeated over and over.

"Get me a sedative River. I need to put her out before she hurts herself." Simon shouted over the noise of Inara's screams.

The screams died down a few minutes later as Inara fell asleep. Simon sighed and grabbed a pain reliever for himself, hoping something would dull the pounding in his head. He glanced over and noticed that Inara's screaming had awakened Mal who was now looking around the room in confusion.

"Hey Mal. How are you feeling?" Simon asked.

Mal strained against his restraints and glared at Simon and River hatefully.

"Mal I really need to examine you. We need to start an iv and make sure you don't get dehydrated." Simon explained gently.

"I don't want a filthy collaborator like you touching me. You and your slut sister. Loyal to the Alliance until it became inconvenient and then you turn your backs on the people who protected you your entire lives." Mal shouted.

"Mal this isn't you talking. Whatever they did to you, you have to try and fight it. You're an Independent, a brown coat." Simon explained trying not to become angry at the man who'd just called his sister a slut.

"No Simon this is me talking. My eyes are finally opened to the truth of things."

"Ai-ren please you're stronger than whatever it is they did to you. You just have to fight off the suggestions they implanted." River whispered suddenly and began to approach her husband.

Mal jerked in the bed trying to get himself as far away from River as possible.

"Don't touch me!" He shouted.

"Mal please you're my husband. You love me, deep down I know you remember that." River pleaded her voice wavering with the effort to hold back her tears.

"Love you? I could never love a broken little choubiaozi like you. My God after the way them men used you in the woods, I feel like I need ta boil my skin off just from touchin you." Mal shouted.

River stood completely still, she didn't even seem to breathe. Simon watched as the blood drained from her face and she became ghostly white. Finally she took a long deep breath and stepped away from Mal's bed.

"I know this isn't you ai-ren." She whispered before turning and walking from the room.

Simon glared at Mal and then hurried after his sister. Simon knew that River rationally understood that Mal was not in control of his actions, but what the captain had said still had to hurt her. Ever since the rape River had dealt with feeling used and dirty; now having Mal say those words out loud had to have broken her heart.

He found her sitting on the catwalk above the cargo bay, a place she hadn't run to in a long time.

"Hey mei-mei. Can I sit down with you?" Simon asked.

River nodded without looking at him. He sat down and put an arm around River's shoulder drawing her to him so that she could put her head on his shoulder.

"I know this doesn't help, but you know that wasn't Mal talking in there. It was the Alliance." Simon whispered hoping to give her some measure of comfort.

She nodded slightly and drew in a ragged breath.

"It isn't what he said." She whispered.

_He'll never by my husband again and my children will never know their father._ River thought suddenly.

"That isn't true mei-mei. We'll figure out a way to fix this and you'll have your husband back and your babies will know their father I promise." Simon comforted.

River gave a small laugh and brought her head up so that she could look Simon in the eyes.

"I'm sorry this happened to you. No one should have to read the thought's of another person. I wish I could have kept this from you." River told him sincerely and placed a hand on his cheek.

"Funny how we seem to have switched places in the last three days. What you just said I think I've thought those exact sentiments a million times since I got you out of the Academy. I know I didn't say it, but thank you for getting me out of there." Simon replied.

"Just returning the favor." River said with a little smile.

"I need to go finish checking on Mal and Inara. Will you gather the crew together in the galley so I can talk to everyone at once?" Simon asked as he stood up and placed a kiss on the top of his sister's head.

River nodded and headed towards the engine room.

Simon spent the next hour running blood tests, scans, and neurological tests on both Mal and Inara. He tried to do it with Mal conscious, but Mal was so uncooperative that Simon was forced to sedate him as well. Once he was finished Simon headed to the galley where Jayne and Zoe were fixing lunch for everyone.

"How are they?" Kaylee asked from the table where she sat with River.

Simon sat down heavily in a chair and rubbed the back of his head, obviously in pain.

"Honestly? Not good. Both of them have sustained brain damage from the electrical shocks given to them via the needles that were implanted in their brains. Mal's is nowhere near as severe as Inara's and I think in time he can recover." Simon informed them.

"You think Mal can recover. But not Inara?" Zoe asked.

"Inara's brain is severely traumatized. There are parts of it that have completely shut down. Its possible that her brain could compensate and begin to function normally but the damage combined with whatever emotional trauma she's obviously been through, I really don't know if recovery is possible." Simon answered darkly.

The crew was silent for a few minutes as everyone took time to digest the information Simon had given them.

"So what about Mal? How can we help him?" Zoe asked finally.

"There are a number of drugs I can try that may help counteract the effects of the trauma. But the real problem is the brainwashing he was subjected to. I don't know exactly what they did, but his blood did test positive for a number of hallucinogenic drugs. I think they doped him up and after that somehow reprogrammed his mind to support the Alliance and to eliminate any Independents. It would explain why he reacted so violently to Zoe when he saw her duster."

"So what da we do now?" Jayne asked.

The table grew silent once again as everyone around hoping someone else had a suggestion.

"Badger's dead." Zoe informed them. "I tried waving him this morning about the job and one a his men told me he was killed three days ago. Seems that they think the Alliance was responsible. The guy told me some Alliance officials were sniffin around, asking Badger questions just a couple hours before someone shot him in the head." She continued.

"You think Badger was the one who sold us out?" Jayne asked.

"Seems likely. We were only on planet for half an hour fore the Alliance showed up. The way they took them, it was planned out, there's no way they came up with that on the spur of the moment." Zoe agreed.

"But how could they have known about Badger? He kept his head low, he didn't tell people bout his jobs or the people who worked for him. I just don't see how the Alliance coulda connected us ta him." Jayne continued.

"It was Inara." River spoke up.

"You could read that from her mei-mei?" Simon asked.

"No there is not enough of her mind left to read. But it makes sense. Inara is the only person not on this boat who knew about our contacts and then we found her in the Academy. Logically all the evidence points to her." She explained.

"And we all know she was out ta get River. She tried once ta send her back to the Academy." Kaylee added.

"Well there isn't much we can do to her, with the way she is now. I think we need to concentrate on getting a job and helping Mal get better." Zoe decided.

"Ya know its harvest time. My ma can always use help on the farm. We could set down on Aiden for awhile." Jayne suggested, although he sounded uncomfortable about the idea.

Zoe nodded as she considered the suggestion. "That could work. At least it'd give us a place to set down for a bit. Why don't ya wave yer ma and make sure she needs the help." Zoe ordered Jayne who nodded and headed to the bridge.

He returned fifteen minutes later, smiling.

"So I take it we're going to yer place Jayne?" Kaylee asked.

"Yep. Ma needs some help awful bad. She ain't got much ta pay, but she can fuel the ship for us, feed us while we're there, and once the harvestin's done she needs a transport ship to deliver goods to the next moon over. It'd be about five round trips and there'll be pay for that." Jayne said proudly.

"That's perfect Jayne thank you." River complimented and kissed Jayne on the cheek making him blush. "Ill set a course for Aiden." She told the crew and left for the bridge.

It took them nearly two weeks to reach Aiden. Inara and Mal both made little improvement during the time, much to the crew's distress. Inara hadn't spoken once since she'd been rescued and continued to scream loudly whenever someone attempted to touch her. Mal's hatred for the entire crew continued without improvement. He was hostile to every member of the crew, but his rage towards Zoe was immeasurable. It got so that Zoe could not even walk past the infirmary without sending Mal into a blind rage.

The night before reaching Aiden Jayne lay in his bunk with Zoe next to him. She was lying on her stomach asleep. Jayne sighed and placed a light kiss on Zoe's forehead before settling down to sleep himself. He didn't want to admit it but Jayne was worried about Zoe. Mal was her best friend and her rock for so many years and Jayne could see how much it hurt her to have Mal be so changed. Zoe hid it well, like she did all of her emotions, but Jayne could see the strain she was under. He hoped that once they reached Aiden Zoe would be distracted by the work they had lined up and could put her energy into that.

Simon climbed into bed wearily and pulled Kaylee to him, relishing in the warm feel of her body against his.

"How are the patients?" Kaylee asked like she had done nearly every night.

"The same. I keep thinking Mal should be showing signs of improvement, but he isn't." Simon said sounding frustrated.

"You'll figure out a way to fix him. I have faith in you." Kaylee replied confidently and leaned over to kiss her husband.

Simon let his mind open up and immersed himself in the love and pride that flowed from his wife's thoughts. As much as he hated having his brain screwed with, there were certain advantages to being a reader he was finding.

"It'll be nice ta be planet side tomorrow. Get off the ship, get some fresh air and real food." Kaylee said trying to cheer Simon up.

"Mmmm… real food. That's going to be wonderful." Simon mumbled sleepily.

River stood outside the door and used her skills as a reader to determine when her brother was fast asleep. Once she was satisfied that he was deeply asleep and wouldn't be waking anytime soon she snuck away from his room and quietly let herself into the infirmary.

Inara was lying curled up in the fetal position like she usually did and Mal was asleep on his back, his arms and legs still restrained.

River crept slowly up to her husband and placed a hand over his mouth. Mal's eyes popped open immediately and he stiffened when he saw River above him.

"Shhh… if you start yelling you will only wake Inara and cause her to scream. If that happens Simon will come in and sedate you both. Do you understand?" River asked.

Mal nodded slowly and River removed her hand from his mouth. He didn't make any noise but continued to stare at her with a hateful expression on his face. The hateful expression turned to one of fear when River suddenly pulled out a pistol and put it to his temple.

"I'm going to un-strap you and you're going to come with me. You know that I am very good with a gun and even without a weapon I can take you down." River warned.

"You won't kill me. You love me remember?" Mal mocked.

"You're right I won't kill you. But that doesn't mean I won't hurt you." She threatened and stared at Mal so coldly that he had no doubt she was telling the truth.

Mal stood up from the bed and wobbled a little as he stood for the first time in days. River pushed the gun to his temple and motioned him out the door. He walked obediently to Inara's old shuttle and once they were both inside River locked the door behind them.

"So what exactly are we doin here? You think if ya bring me to the whore's shuttle and sex me up I'll suddenly forget the fact that you're a feng-le Independent slut?" Mal asked.

River stepped towards him looking frail and hurt. Tears welled up in her eyes and she looked like she was going to throw herself at him and sob. Instead she balled up her fist and swung an upper cut directly into Mal's jaw. Mal's head snapped backward and he stumbled and fell to his knees.

"That is the last time you get to call me crazy or a slut. Do you understand me?" River ordered menacingly.

"I'll call you whatever the hell I want to bitch!" Mal shouted.

River again punched Mal in the jaw and this time he fell completely to the floor. Mal lay on the ground panting and glared up at River.

"You've forgotten who you are Malcolm Reynolds. They tried to take away your soul, but I can feel it hiding way down deep. We have to find a way to unbury it." River informed him.

"Girl there ain't nothing buried inside me! This is me now I've finally seen the truth." Mal argued.

River simply gave him an amused smile like he had no idea what he was talking about.

Mal picked himself up off the floor and sat down on the edge of the bed after River motioned for him to do so with the gun. Keeping the gun trained on him River walked over to the display screen at the foot of the bed and pushed a button. A series of captures began to play on the screen. They were pictures of the crew, pictures of Mal's squadron during the war, and even some pictures of Mal as a child on Shadow.

"This is you Malcolm Reynolds. This is the man you've had a lifetime to become and a few days at the hands of monsters is not enough to destroy this man." River explained.

Mal glanced at the screen once and then looked down.

"Look at the captures!" River yelled and cocked the gun and placed it against Mal's temple again.

Mal raised his head slowly as if it were unbelievably heavy. As he stared at the series of captures, River watched his face go from angry to completely void of any expression what so ever. River watched as he became transfixed by the images before him. Finally the blank look on his face cracked when he saw a picture of him and Zoe both of them dressed in uniform and laughing with their arms around each other. It wasn't much of a reaction, just a simple flinch and raise of the eyebrow, but River knew it was a sign.

He showed no other reaction for nearly two hours as River forced him to watch the captures over and over again. They watched the pictures throughout the night, Mal sat utterly still and didn't try to leave or move. An hour before Serenity's day cycle was to begin River switched off the monitor. Mal didn't move or look at her and River wasn't sure if this was a good sign or a bad one. She pulled one final capture from her back pocket and without a word tossed it onto Mal's lap.

Mal stared down at the capture for nearly five minutes. Finally he picked it up and River saw that his hands were shaking as he held the image. He looked up suddenly into River's eyes and for the first time in two weeks River saw her husband staring back at her.

He jumped up and pulled River into a crushing embrace, burying his face into her hair and began to weep.

"I'm sorry bao-bei. I'm so so sorry." He murmured over and over.

"Shhh… ai-ren. It wasn't you. You're back now that's all that matters." She comforted and pulled him away from her shoulder so that she could kiss him deeply.

Mal pulled her to him and kissed her hungrily as if he hadn't kissed her in years.

"Feel like I was so lost. I kept trying to think like myself but everything was so fuzzy." Mal explained.

"I know my love, but I found you. I'll always find you." River whispered.

"How did you know to show me that picture? How did you know that capture would bring me back?" Mal asked still clutching tightly to the capture she had tossed in his lap.

"Because I know you ai-ren. Family is everything to you. I knew that seeing your children would bring you back." She explained.

Mal held up the capture so that both of them could look at the ultrasound picture Simon had taken of their twins just days before they had been taken to the Academy.

"How could I have forgotten about the babies?" Mal asked.

"You protected them. Didn't want to hurt the babies so you made yourself forget them. Because you love them."

Mal placed his hand on River's stomach and a broad grin broke over his face when he felt the slight bump she had developed in the last week. He pulled her close to kiss her once again and together they both sank to the bed. They made love slowly and easily, both of them too exhausted to do anything adventurous.

It was enough to simply touch and be close, to know that once again they were together like they were meant to be.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

As soon as Simon woke up the next morning he knew instantly that there had been a change during the night. The hate and rage he'd been feeling constantly since Mal had first woken up was gone. It was an immense relief to have the negative feelings absent from his head.

Mal and River woke early and worked together to make breakfast for the crew, though it wasn't their turn on cooking detail. They moved around the small kitchen giving each other side long glances and smiles while they worked. Once they finished Mal sat down at the table with a cup of coffee, relishing in being himself again and no longer having the Alliance in his mind.

Zoe pulled her gun as soon as she saw Mal free from the restraints. He put his hands up and gave Zoe a small smile.

"Zo it's ok. It's me." Mal assured her.

Zoe looked at him uncertainly and didn't lower her gun.

"Zoe it's alright. I fixed him." River told her and smiled reassuringly.

Zoe continued to look uncertain but lowered the gun and put it away.

"Sorry for pulling a gun on you Sir, but you have been trying to kill me for the last two weeks." Zoe quipped as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

"Yeah sorry bout that. I swear it wasn't me, my brain was all confused." Mal replied uncomfortably.

"Not lookin for an apology for somethin that wasn't yer fault. Just glad to have you back Sir." Zoe answered.

"Cap'n Simon told me you're back ta normal." Kaylee squealed excitedly as she bounded into the room.

"Yep seems River figured out how ta break whatever them hun-dans did ta me." Mal confirmed as Kaylee threw herself into his arms.

Simon entered the galley a minute later and smiled widely to see his sister and wife looking so happy. Jayne walked into the room only a second after Simon and immediately pulled his gun on the Captain.

It took nearly ten minutes before Jayne was convinced that Mal had returned to normal and wasn't going to kill them all as soon as Jayne lowered his weapon. He finally submitted to lowering the gun when River informed him that breakfast was ready.

The crew ate happily glad to be together once again. The happiness was marred slightly by the fact that every once in a while Simon would grimace in pain or say something to remind everyone that there were now two individuals on board capable of reading their thoughts. The knowledge that Inara still lay in the infirmary, her mind broken beyond repair, also dampened the good spirits.

The crew landed on Aiden an hour after they'd finished breakfast. Jayne, Zoe, and Kaylee left the ship as soon as they landed, ready to meet Jayne's family and get to work. Mal wanted to leave with them but Simon insisted that he run a full scan on Mal before he was allowed to do any manual labor.

"Doc I feel fine. Seriously whatever they did ta me is gone now. I don't even remember most of it they had me so doped up." Mal complained as they walked to the infirmary.

"I know that Captain. But you did have your brain seriously tampered with and I won't feel comfortable with you doing any heavy lifting or exertion until I check you over. Plus you have had an aneurism burst in your head before, we need to make sure that isn't going to happen again." Simon reasoned.

Mal finally grunted his acceptance as they walked through the door. The Captain stopped short when he saw Inara lying on the table.

"I can't believe I was in here with her for two weeks and seein her like this didn't bother me once." Mal muttered and looked at Inara with an expression of sadness, anger, and pity all rolled together.

"I know. Even after all she did to River and you, well no one deserves this. If I could find a way to help her I would." Simon said regretfully.

"This ain't yer fault Doc. We all know yer doin everything you can." Mal comforted.

Simon nodded silently and motioned for Mal to climb up on the exam table.

"Well Mal I have to say your brain looks amazingly healthy considering all that's happened to it. I think you should be fine to go back to work. Just take it slow at first and if you get a headache or any other problems tell me right away." Simon instructed sternly.

River walked into the infirmary just as Mal was hopping down from the table. She had an enormous smile on her face as she leaned in to kiss her husband.

"Cleared by the Doctor. Brain's all fixed." She said excitedly.

Mal nodded enthusiastically and returned her fierce hug. "Yep Doc says I'm back one hundred percent."

"I love you ai-ren." River said as she pulled away from their kiss.

"I love you too River." Mal returned.

Suddenly as if she had been yanked up by wires Inara sat up on the bed. Her back was completely straight and her limbs were ridged as she stared blankly ahead of her.

Simon hurried over excitedly to examine her.

"Inara can you hear me?" He asked as he held a flashlight up to one of her eyes.

"Amanti attraversati stella" Inara mumbled suddenly and then fell back to the bed limply.

"What Inara? What did you sa…" Simon was cut off as he heard a large crash of shattering glass from behind him.

"What the hell?" He yelled and whirled around.

The first thing he saw was that Mal had suddenly disappeared from the room. The next thing he registered was the broken glass of a window that Mal had apparently gone through. The final thing he took in was his sister breathing heavily as she headed out the door, a look of utter determination on her face.

"River what are you doing?" Simon called but received no answer.

Without even consciously thinking about it Simon reached out with his mind to try and read his sibling. As soon as he attempted to read her he realized what was wrong. There was only one thing in her mind. He had learned since becoming a reader that people's thoughts were often a confusing garble of many different thoughts and emotions. River's mind at that moment was nothing like that. Her mind was completely centered on one goal and only that goal; nothing else existed for her. Simon ran after her; his heart pounding knowing he had to stop her.

River raced ahead of him intent on completing the mission she'd been triggered to accomplish. Eliminate Malcolm Reynolds.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Most people who knew Malcolm Reynolds were aware that he was not a stupid man, but even he was surprised at how quickly he put together what had happened. One second he was kissing his loving wife and the next Inara said something he couldn't understand and suddenly he was flying through one of the infirmary windows. He wasn't sure how River had been able to throw him through the window, she shouldn't have anywhere near the physical strength to pull off such a feat, but the fact that he was now lying in a pile of broken glass outside the infirmary proved she'd managed to do it.

The realization that River had been triggered by the strange words Inara had spoken occurred to him as he was flying through the window. He was up and moving almost the second he hit the ground despite the blood gushing from the cut in his arm. He briefly considered turning to try and subdue his wife, but realized that she would probably kill him before he could even think of getting a hand on her.

Mal raced into the cargo bay with the sound of River's pounding combat boots directly behind him. He didn't have a plan, he simply ran in the hope of staying away from her until Simon could say the safe word and knock her out.

Almost as if reading his mind, which Mal then realized he probably was, Simon ran into the cargo bay and shouted, "Eta kooram nah smech!"

Mal sighed with relief and turned quickly hoping to catch River before she could hit the ground, he was worried that the babies would be hurt. Instead of finding his unconscious wife behind him Mal found her fist as it slammed into his face. As soon as she punched him in the face River delivered a swift blow to his kidney that caused Mal to cry out and fall to his knees.

Simon watched in horror as River began to pummel her husband, completely unaffected by the safe word he had screamed out. Not seeing any other option Simon raced forward and grabbed River by the shoulder, spinning her around so that she was facing him and away from Mal. She lashed out immediately throwing her fist at her brother's face. Simon managed to block the blow and the next one and the next as well. He hoped that he could simply hold River off until someone came for help or the trigger ended which ever came first.

Mal pulled himself up from the ground and looked up in fascinated horror as the Tam siblings fought each other. Mal had known River was an incredible fighter, but seeing her brawl with someone who could match her in speed and strength was a thing of wonder. The two moved so fast that they were a blur to the naked eye; Mal could only catch every third or fourth blow and then the two would again become a blur.

Although Simon was managing to hold his own against River, Mal knew it was only a matter of time before his wife got the better of her brother. Simon had had a few months of training from his sister and a rim world mercenary that could in no way compare to the intensive military training River had been put through for three years at the Academy. Just as this thought was crossing Mal's mind River managed to land a kick directly in the side of Simon's head, which sent him flying back about six feet.

The instant Simon was on the ground River again spun to face Mal. She was breathing heavily and red faced, but Mal knew she was no where near being tired out. She spun once and kicked him in the face. Mal felt blood gush into his mouth as his head whipped to the side and he fell once again to the metal grating of the floor. He was distracted from the pain a moment later when he felt a tug at his hip and realized that River had just pulled his revolver from his holster. He looked up to see the gun pointing directly at his face.

"River Stop! Fight it!" Mal yelled trying to reach her beneath whatever compulsion was driving her.

River hesitated, the gun wavered when just a second before it had been rock steady.

"Please bao-bei I know you can break whatever is in your head right now. You're stronger than them hun-dans!" Mal urged again.

River's hand began to shake wildly as it pointed at Mal. Her eyes were wide open with horror, sweat poured off of her, and her face was bright red with the strain of fighting the trigger. So slowly it seemed to happen in slow-motion River turned the gun away from Mal.

Mal's blood ran cold as River turned the gun from Mal and put it to her own temple.

"River stop! Think about the babies, if you hurt yourself you'll hurt them." Mal said gently.

"I can't stop the trigger. Have to stop myself." She stammered, obviously using every ounce of will power she had to speak.

"No bao-bei you put that gun back on me. If'n one of us is gonna get shot it's gonna be me." Mal instructed, the need to protect his family greater than anything else in the world.

River's face looked even more horrified as her hand turned again to her husband. Mal could see how hard she was fighting against the programming that had been put in her brain; she wasn't just breathing heavily anymore she was hyperventilating and her face had grown an even darker shade of red. Mal knew that this kind of stress couldn't be good for either her or the babies and he hoped that if she was going to shoot him she'd do it soon and stop hurting herself.

"That's right baby doll you just keep that gun pointed at me." Mal urged gently, obviously relieved, his fear of being killed much less than his fear of losing River.

"Simon knock me out! Please Simon!" River begged without taking her eyes off of Mal.

"He's out cold bao-bei." Mal informed her sadly and winced when he heard River cock the gun.

"I- I- can't stop. Mal I'm sorry." River sobbed.

"Its alright bao-bei. It ain't yer fault. Love you. You tell our babies I love em too." Mal whispered and closed his eyes.

The gunshot came only a second later, the sound deafening as it echoed around the cargo bay. Mal stiffened and jerked from the sound, but cracked open his eyes less than a second later when he felt no bullet tear into him.

To his shock he found Inara standing before him facing River. When she turned around to look at Mal he saw a bullet hole in her chest. She gave him a loving smile and crumpled to the ground. Moving quickly Mal managed to catch her before she hit the floor.

"Nara?" He asked not knowing what else to say.

"S-sorry Mal. I told them. Told them… River. I'm sorry." She mumbled.

"Shhh… Nara it's ok. Whatever ya did it's all over now." Mal comforted.

He glanced up quickly fearful that River would use his distraction to put a bullet in his head. River however was sitting on the ground, her knees pulled to her chest, and the gun sitting on the ground next to her.

Mal turned his attention back to Inara. She had begun to tremble in his arms and her breath made a disturbing rattling noise in her chest.

"Why'd you get in front a the bullet? You shouldn't have done that Nara." He whispered.

Inara coughed, causing a spray of blood to stain her lips and his shirt. "Love you Mal. Had to protect you. My fault." She whispered.

Another fit of coughing wracked her body and Mal held her tightly as she struggled to breath. He glanced desperately at Simon hoping the doctor could help her, but Simon was obviously still unconscious.

"Thank you for savin me Nara." He told her gently and wiped the blood from her lips.

Inara gave him another loving smile and reached a trembling hand to his face and touched his cheek gently.

"I should have left the Guild for you. We could have been happy." She said regretfully. Mal noted that her voice was growing weaker by the second, but she sounded more like her old self.

"It's all in the past Inara. Don't blame yourself." Mal comforted.

"Take care of her Mal." Inara instructed and looked over to where River still sat huddled and crying.

"I will. We'll take care of each other. You just hang on Nara, the Doc'll fix you up." Mal instructed.

"I love you Malcolm Reynolds. I always loved you, more than anything else." Inara said, her voice gaining a note of strength.

Mal could hear Inara's breathing catch in her chest and when he felt for a pulse he could feel it skipping beats. Her hand dropped limply from his cheek to her lap. He pulled her to him even tighter than before, determined to give her every ounce of comfort he possibly could.

"I'm sorry too Nara. I love you." He whispered into her ear and placed a gentle light kiss onto her lips.

Inara's eyes lit up with happiness, she pulled in one final breath , let it out in a soft sigh, and then lay still in his arms.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Mal gently laid Inara's body on the ground and hurried over to his wife. She was still curled into a ball with her knees pulled up against her chest. Her hands were curled into balls so tightly that Mal could see small trickles of blood leaking out between her fingers.

"River? You here bao-bei?" Mal asked as he approached her slowly.

River nodded but didn't raise her head to look at him.

Mal lowered himself to the floor next to her, wincing at the various injuries she'd given him in the last few minutes. He put an arm around River's shoulders and pulled her to him. She collapsed against his side and cried silently against him.

"Weren't yer fault love." He whispered.

She nodded again but still refused to look at him or speak.

"I gotta go check on yer brother. You gonna be ok if I leave you here?" He asked.

She nodded again and pulled herself away so that he could stand up.

To Mal's relief Simon was breathing and he had a strong steady pulse. When Mal turned him onto his back he saw a large lump rising on Simon's head and a huge bruise beginning to darken his cheek and temple.

"Hey Doc? Can ya hear me?" Mal asked and tapped the side of Simon's face lightly.

Simon groaned and moved away from Mal's hand. His eyes snapped open suddenly and he sat up.

"River is she…" He asked frantically.

"She's alright." Mal interrupted.

Simon let out a sigh of relief and slumped back to the ground.

"What happened? How did you stop the trigger?" Simon asked after he had seen River sitting a few feet away, unhurt.

"I didn't stop it. She fired the gun and then hit the ground." He informed the doctor. "Simon, she shot Inara." He added.

Simon looked around in confusion and his eyes widened when he saw Inara's body on the ground. He sat up again and began to stand up.

"Ain't no use Doc. She's gone." Mal explained.

Simon's face displayed a strange mixture of relief and sadness combined, which Mal guessed was evident on his own face as well.

"We need to get you to the infirmary and stitch that up." Simon said and pointed to the nasty cut Mal had received when he'd gone through the window.

"No you should check on River first. The way she was fightin the trigger couldn't a done her or the babies any good." Mal objected.

Simon nodded and pulled himself painfully to his feet. Mal picked up River and carried her to the infirmary. Simon followed after checking Inara's body to see for himself that she was truly gone.

"I don't think there's any permanent damage, but your blood pressure is elevated. You're going to need to take it easy for the next few days, just to give your body a chance to recuperate." Simon instructed after giving River a quick exam.

"I'm sorry Simon." River apologized and reached up to gently touch the large bruise forming along the side of his face.

"Not your fault mei-mei. None of this is your fault." Simon returned.

"Yer brother's right. This ain't yer fault." Mal added.

They were interrupted by a shriek coming from the cargo bay.

Kaylee ran into the infirmary only a second later and looked at the three of them in shock.

"What happened? Inara's hurt." Kaylee blurted.

"We know bao-bei." Simon told her and pulled her into an embrace.

"You gotta get down there and help her Simon." Kaylee protested and pulled away from her husband.

"Bao-bei there isn't anything I can do for her. She's gone."

Kaylee swallowed thickly and took a deep breath. "Are you sure?"

"She's gone mei-mei. I'm sorry I know she was yer friend." Mal comforted sadly and placed a kiss on top of Kaylee's head.

"Cap'n yer hurt." She said suddenly.

"Ain't nothin but a scratch."

"What happened? Who did this?" Kaylee asked. She looked around in confusion for the person who had hurt her family.

"It was me." River whispered without looking up at her friend.

"You? But River you wouldn't do this." Kaylee protested.

"Inara triggered her. Something they must have put in her head when we were at the Academy." Mal added.

"Oh River. This ain't yer fault." Kaylee said immediately and climbed up on the table to gather her friend into her arms.

River nodded and buried her face into Kaylee's shoulder. Mal was relieved to see that Kaylee could offer River a measure of comfort and didn't judge her for what she had done.

"Kaylee can you take River ta our bunk and then track down Jayne and Zoe for me?" Mal asked.

Kaylee nodded and pulled River up from the exam table and threw an arm around her shoulders to lead her out of the room. Once the women had left the room Mal sank onto the exam table and allowed all of the aches and pains he had to show. While Simon cleaned and stitched the cut in his arm Jayne and Zoe returned. After Mal had explained what had happened they set about moving Inara's body from the cargo bay and cleaning up the blood stains.

"Sir do we have any plans for the body? Should we take her back to the training house?" Zoe asked after she and Jayne had finished in the cargo bay.

"No we'll bury her here. She was in that place for quite awhile so I'm guessin the Alliance made somethin up to tell the training house. Best they keep believing whatever tale the Alliance spun and leave it at that. Ain't no reason they need to know we were involved with her death." Mal replied.

Zoe nodded having expected him to make this decision. Once Simon finished treating Mal he left to find Kaylee and meet Jayne's family. Mal wandered the ship trying hard to absorb the events that had happened in the last hour. Eventually he found himself outside his bunk and climbed down to check on his wife. River lay facing the wall and didn't move when Mal climbed onto the bed beside her. When Mal reached out a hand and ran it down her arm River stiffened and moved even closer to the wall.

"Hey bao-bei what's the matter? You still beaten yerself up bout what happened." Mal asked with concern.

"No I realized what occurred was not my fault." River answered.

"Then what is it?" He asked confused.

"You said you loved her. Were you in love with her still? After all this time?" River asked, her voice quavering with fear and unshed tears.

Mal grabbed her shoulder and forced her to turn over so that he could look into her face.

"No bao-bei I wasn't in love with her. Not even close. But she was dyin and she sacrificed herself for me. I learned a long time ago that when someone's about to leave this life you say whatever you have to to give em some comfort. Don't matter if it's the biggest gorram lie in the Verse, if it makes it easier for them to let go then ya say it." Mal explained.

River nodded but still looked unconvinced.

"Look Inara did terrible things to us, to you especially. But she also did alotta good for us too. She was the one who gave me the courage to be with you in the first place and she stood by us after Miranda. I wasn't comforting her because a who she turned out to be, I was honoring the person she once was." Mal continued.

"I understand, just hurt to hear you say that to another woman, especially her." River whispered.

"I'm sorry it hurt ya. That's the last thing in the Verse I ever want to do." Mal said and leaned down to kiss River.

River pulled away and looked intently into Mal's eyes.

"I'm glad you were able to make her last moments easier. You are a good man Malcolm Reynolds." She whispered and gazed at him lovingly.

"You ain't so bad yerself River Reynolds. Now you need ta get some sleep, Doctor's orders remember?" Mal instructed and pulled the blanket over River.

River pouted for a second but complied and shut her eyes.

"Night bao-bei. Just so ya know you're the only woman I love in this Verse or any other. And you're the only one I ever wanna love." Mal whispered into her ear, making her smile brightly as she drifted off to sleep.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hey ai-ren. You meet Jayne's folks yet?" Kaylee asked as she wrapped an arm around Simon's waist and nestled her head between his shoulder blades.

"Yes I just did. It's strange. They're so… normal. Just a regular family. I thought they'd be more… Jayne like." Simon muttered.

Kaylee laughed lightly and Simon's heart sped up like it always did when she laughed.

"They are really nice. Jayne's ma is so warm and carin. She makes me think a my ma. I like em." Kaylee added.

"I like them too." Simon agreed and turned so that he could hold Kaylee tightly. He could feel her worry for him strongly.

"I'm alright Kaylee. You don't have to worry." He assured her.

"I know you're alright, but still ain't gonna stop me from worryin about ya. You're my husband it's my job to fret over ya." She insisted. "You hungry ai-ren? Whatever Jayne's ma cooked for lunch smells awful good."

Simon smiled at the idea of real food and pulled Kaylee into the house quickly. After they had eaten more than their fill of actual food Kaylee kindly made up two plates and brought them to Serenity for Mal and River. Mal gratefully accepted the food and reassured Kaylee that River was doing alright.

"Bao-bei you wanna wake up and eat? Real food. Not a protein pack in sight." Mal whispered happily.

River's eyes opened slowly and she gave Mal a sleepy smile. She sat up suddenly, the smile dropping from her face in an instant. Mal thought that perhaps she was going to cry again, but she instead jumped from the bed and ran to the toilet and began to heave into it. For a second Mal was panicked as to what might be wrong with his wife, it then occurred to him that throwing up was part of the whole pregnancy thing. He hurriedly put the two plates of food into the hall and moved to hold River's hair back as she continued to wretch. Once she had finished she leaned back against the wall, her face wan and sweaty. Mal handed her a glass of water and a cool cloth, she accepted both gladly.

"See its stuff like this makes me glad it's the women folk who gotta have the babies." Mal joked.

River gave him a seething glare that told him his joke was not in the least bit funny.

"You think you wanna try eating or should I leave that food out for Jayne?" Mal asked trying to change the subject away from anything else that might get him in trouble.

"I'm starving now. Real food sounds wonderful." River replied eagerly.

They ate in comfortable silence, both lost in thoughts of the events of the day.

"It was my mother." River said abruptly.

"Huh?"

"My mother was the one who imbedded the trigger in me and in Inara." River said quietly.

"Inara was triggered too?" Mal asked confused.

"Yes it was my mother's revenge. You triggered Inara." River answered making Mal even more confused.

"I triggered her? How in the ruttin Verse did I do that?"

"You said 'I love you River' that was the trigger."

"How do you know me sayin I love ya triggered Inara?" He asked.

"Because I know Reagan Tam and it was the perfect revenge. If your programming had remained and you'd continued to hate me, you never would have said I love you. She set us up so that if your programming was ever broken and we were together once again I would be triggered to kill you." River explained.

"That seems awfully damn complicated. Are you sure that's what happened?" Mal asked.

"Yes I'm sure. I know because of what Inara said to trigger me."

"What'd she say. I ain't never heard that language before." Mal replied.

"It was Italian. A dead language from Earth that was. It meant star crossed lovers. A line from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet."

Mal gave her a confused look of frustration.

"Romeo and Juliet is often said to be the most tragic love story of all time. Two lovers who defy their families to be together. They both commit suicide in the end. My mother read it to me when I was six."

"Your ma read ya somethin like that when you was six?" Mal asked amazed and slightly horrified.

"Yes, we were only allowed classic literature."

"So your ma put it in Inara's head to be triggered if she heard me tell you I loved you. And then she triggered you with that Shakespeare stuff to kill me?" Mal asked hoping he understood.

"Correct, unnecessarily complicated, but it is exactly the kind of thing my mother would enjoy." River confirmed sadly.

Mal rubbed his temples and tried to ignore the headache that was building at the base of his skull.

"Will we bury her today?" River asked suddenly changing the subject.

"Yes. Jayne and Simon are digging the grave now. How you doing with all this?" Mal asked.

River tilted her head to the side and closed her eyes. Mal wasn't sure who she was reading but he allowed her the time to do what she needed to do.

"No one on the ship blames me. I thought they would." She said after a minute.

"They know it ain't your fault, love. Every one of em saw just how bad that place could be. Hell I tried to kill ya'll for two weeks and they didn't hate me." Mal pointed out.

"Good point." River agreed.

"So you wanna get off this boat for a bit? Get some fresh air and meet Jayne's folks?" Mal asked and held out a hand to help River up from the bed.

They spent the rest of the day with Jayne's family. Mal and River were as surprised as the rest of the crew to find that Jayne's family was warm and inviting, so very unlike how Jayne had been for most of the time they'd known him. Being on planet and with such kind people was the antidote they'd all needed from the events of the past month.

They buried Inara at sunset under a large oak tree that stood at the end of the Cobb property. Jayne's father said a few prayers over the grave, but no one on the crew said much of anything. All of them felt the same mixture of relief and regret that Simon and Mal had both felt after she'd been killed. No one was quite sure if they should grieve for her or how to do it.

Mal was surprised when River chose to stay behind when everyone returned to the house. He stood on the porch and watched as River sat at the foot of the grave for nearly an hour. It seemed that she talked some of the time, but mostly she sat in silence and stared off into the wilderness.

When she returned to the house she was smiling, although Mal could tell she'd also been crying.

"What were you doin out there for so long bao-bei?" He asked unable to quell is curiosity.

River looked once more towards the grave and smiled sadly.

"I was forgiving her. And asking her for forgiveness too." She whispered.

"What would you ever need her forgiveness for?" He asked.

"She loved you very much. I stole that away from her and I hope wherever she is she can forgive me for that." River answered.

Mal was once again amazed by the understanding and love his wife could show for people. Even for those that didn't deserve it. He pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her so that they could stare out at the last light of the sunset together.

"You're amazing River, ya know that?" He whispered into her ear.

"So I've been told." River replied with a smirk. "But I like to hear it from you." She added with a smile.

"I think its time Mal." She told him suddenly.

"Time for what bao-bei?" He asked.

"Time to shut down the Academy and stop my mother. Forever." River answered with determination.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The two weeks with Jayne's family passed too quickly for the crew. They spent their days helping with the harvest, River spent most of her time with Jayne's mother learning to cook and getting advice on motherhood. During the last five days Serenity made four round trips to the next moon over, delivering the goods that they had spent the previous week and a half harvesting. Once the deliveries were finished Jayne's father paid the crew handsomely for their efforts and fully fueled the ship.

"Captain you bring my boy back soon. And that sweet wife o'yours. I'm gonna wanna meet them little ones once they're born." Jayne's mother instructed as she pulled Mal into a hug.

"Alright Ma I promise." Mal replied with a laugh. Mrs. Cobb had insisted the entire crew call her ma. Although Mal had acted uncomfortable about it, part of him reveled in having a mother figure around again, he could tell that the rest of the crew felt the same way.

Mrs. Cobb released Mal and pulled River into a tight embrace.

"Don't you worry none sweetie. You're gonna be a wonderful mother and if you got any questions, you just wave me or write me and Jayne'll make sure I get it." She instructed.

River nodded and wiped away the tears that had begun to run down her cheeks.

Mal pulled River into his arms while the rest of the crew took their turns to say goodbye to the Cobbs. Once the goodbyes were finished the crew reluctantly left the house and boarded Serenity once again.

"I can't believe ya never told us how nice yer family is Jayne." Kaylee remarked after the cargo bay doors had closed.

"Yeah well they're alright. Just a regular family I guess." Jayne muttered casually.

Zoe wrapped an arm around Jayne and kissed his neck.

"You know they're great." She teased with a laugh.

Jayne grunted a reply and turned red with embarrassment as he hurried out of the room to avoid any further comments about the picture perfect family he'd never mentioned.

Mal fell asleep quickly that night, the hard farm work mixed with the familiar hum of Serenity's engines knocked him out as soon as his head hit the pillow. He woke up in the middle of the night and found that the other side of the bed was empty. Slipping on a pair of pants he hurried out of the bunk to look for his wife.

He found River on the bridge staring out into the black. One of her hands was gently rubbing the slight bump of her stomach as she sang a song under her breath.

_**You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us and the world will be as one.**_

Mal felt a lump rise in his throat as he listened to the beautiful sad words that River sang to their unborn children. He waited until she stopped singing, the last few notes of her song seemed to hang in the air after she had finished.

"That was beautiful bao-bei. The Beatles right?" He whispered as he walked up behind her chair.

She leaned her head back against him and sighed. "John Lennon. He was a member of the Beatles but he wrote that song on his own." She explained.

"I like the words. Makes me think a how I felt when I joined up with the Independents." He commented.

River sighed again. "It's very sad, he never saw those words come true when he was alive and after all this time they still haven't come true."

"Guess livin in peace just ain't our way." Mal answered.

"I suppose not. But it's a lesson I wish they'd never have to learn." She replied and again rubbed the bulge of her belly.

Mal wasn't sure how to make her feel better and hated that he felt so helpless.

"What if I'm not a good mother?" She whispered.

Mal moved around the chair and knelt down so that he could look up into River's eyes.

"Why would ya ever think that?" He asked.

River gave him an ironic smirk and laughed dryly.

"I'm an emotionally traumatized psychic who isn't entirely sane much of the time. Plus you've met my mother, look at the only maternal influence I've ever had. How am I supposed to be a good mother to them?" She argued and began to sniffle.

"Hey now I won't have ya talkin bout my wife that way. My wife is the amazing genius who has survived more in her short life than most people can even imagine. Not only that but she's one a the most caring, loving people I've ever known. Hell I just watched you cry over the grave of a woman who tried ta get ya killed more than once." Mal told her firmly.

River smiled and threw herself into Mal's arms, knocking him off balance and causing both of them to land on the floor. River stared down into Mal's eyes and then gave him a wicked smile as she reached a hand down to unbuckle his pants.

"Wuh de ma! Girl I swear you are gonna be the death a me. How the hell do you have that kind a stamina?" Mal panted as he desperately tried to catch his breath half an hour later.

Mal pulled himself up into the co-pilot's chair and then pulled River onto his lap. River snuggled up against him and he felt a thrill as her newly rounded stomach pressed against him.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, staring out at the stars and trying to catch their breaths.

"Hon you sure about goin after yer ma? I understand why you want to do it. But I gotta say I ain't sure it's the best time for us to be going up against the Government again. What with us about to become parent and all." Mal said a few minutes later.

"I understand that it will be difficult, but Mal I don't want our daughters to be born with the Alliance still after them. I want them to be born into a Verse where there isn't anyone looking to experiment on them." River said with a sigh.

"Daughters? Did Simon tell you they're girls?" Mal asked excitedly.

"No I just have a feeling." She answered.

Mal knew by now that River was very rarely wrong when it came to her feelings.

"Girls huh? Not sure what to do with two girls. You get to teach em all about makeup and hair and junk. And you definitely gotta handle the birds and the bees conversation." Mal instructed.

"So if I have to handle personal grooming and procreation talks just what will you be responsible for teaching our daughters?" River asked.

"I'll teach em how ta fire a gun."

"Then what will their Uncle Jayne teach them?" River countered.

"K I'll teach em how ta fight." Mal suggested.

"Shouldn't they be taught how to fight by someone who doesn't get beaten up as much as you? Like Zoe or me?" She teased.

"Hey I don't get beat up that much." Mal protested.

"Well you get beaten up more than anyone else on the ship." River pointed out.

Mal fumed for a few minutes. "Hey I can teach em all about running a ship." He said brightly.

River hugged her husband tightly and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

"I think that's the perfect thing for you to teach them ai-ren."

"So back to this whole taken down the Alliance thing you think we can do it?" He asked.

River contemplated his question for a few minutes before answering.

"It will take a lot of planning and luck but I think we can pull it off." She said confidently.

"I just don't want nothing happening to my girls. If stopping yer ma is gonna put you in danger then I don't want us to do it." Mal explained.

"Ai-ren we live a dangerous life. There will always be threats to our family. I just want to take away this one major threat before they have the chance to hurt us. The people at the Academy know that I'm pregnant and I'm sure they did tests while I was unconscious so they probably know when I'm due. I think they will come for the babies as soon as they are sure they've been born, maybe even sooner than that. We can't let that happen."

Mal sighed and hugged River more tightly. "No we can't let that happen. Ain't no way in Hell I'm letting them hun-dans get there hands on any a my girls." He replied confidently. "So you got a plan?" He asked.

"I have the beginning of a plan. The rest will come together soon I'm sure." She told him.

"Well what do ya say we go ta bed and think on it more tomorrow? Don't know bout you but I'm beat." Mal asked with a wide yawn.

River yawned widely in return and they both laughed lightly as they headed towards their bunk.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Any sign of them?" Reagan Tam asked for what felt like the millionth time in the last month.

"No sign of Serenity Ma'am. Wherever they are they're laying low." Her assistant informed her and winced.

Reagan cursed loudly and threw her data pad across the room. It crashed into a wall loudly and shattered.

"We're doing all we can Ma'am. Monitoring communication waves and we have men planted on every planet they've been known to do business on. Eventually they'll have to show themselves." The assistant assured her.

"Let me know if you hear anything." Reagan instructed for what was again probably the millionth time.

"Yes Ma'am." Her assistant replied and hurried from the room.

Reagan sat down at her desk and rubbed her temples to try and relieve her stress headache. She had to find Simon and River soon. Her superiors were insisting that River be returned to the Academy before the babies were born. She only had four months left before River was due and every day that went by with no sign of Serenity angered her superiors further.

She felt her anger rise again when she remembered the day that they had escaped. It had looked bad enough for her when Simon had managed to take River the first time, but to lose them a second time along with two other subjects was unbelievable. Their escape did prove to the Alliance just how special Simon and River were. It was this fact alone that had let Reagan keep her job and most likely her life as well. She had to find them soon. Her superiors wanted to do genetic manipulations on the fetuses before they were born and time was quickly running out.

A sudden knock on her office door pulled Reagan away from her dark thoughts.

"Ma'am there's a wave for you." Her assistant said hesitantly.

"If it's my husband tell him I won't be home for dinner." She snapped.

"No Ma'am it's your son." The assistant informed her.

Reagan's heart skipped a beat at the news. She swallowed thickly and nodded.

"Send the wave through immediately." She ordered and turned to her Cortex screen. A few seconds later Simon's face popped up on the screen.

"Simon, this is well… surprising." She said.

"Mother. I would ask how you are but I'm assuming work hasn't gone well since we left." Simon said shortly.

"You'd be right. My superiors are very unhappy with you and your sister's little disappearing act. So may I ask why you are waving me?" Reagan retorted.

"I've been thinking recently. I'm tired of worrying about you and your goons chasing after River and I. I don't want to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder. And as much as I hate to admit it, I like what you did to me. Being able to read people's thoughts and emotions is the most amazing thing that's ever happened to me." Simon replied.

"Well I'm glad you at least can see what I was trying to give you. Your sister was never appreciative of how extraordinary I made her." Reagan said bitterly.

"You and I both know River is something of a spoiled brat. If she didn't choose it for herself she isn't going to be happy about it. But we're getting off the subject. I want to make a deal with you Mother."

"What kind of deal?" Reagan asked suspiciously.

"I want to come back to the Academy. I want you to finish the program so that I can be everything you thought I would become." Simon replied.

Reagan stared at the screen in shock for nearly a minute.

"I thought you and your sister were angry about what I'd done to you. I seem to remember you thinking I tortured River and drove her to insanity."

"I've had a lot of time to think about things and I've also seen first hand just what it is that you did to River. She may think it's a burden, but I love it. And I want more of it."

"I'm so happy that you understand what I was trying to give you. I never wanted to hurt you or your sister. But Simon I can't simply take you back. The people in charge of the program have seen what you and your sister are capable of. They want something more."

Simon nodded and closed his eyes for a second. "I figured you'd say that. That's why I'm willing to make you a deal." He said sadly.

"What kind of deal?" Reagan asked.

"If you'll continue the program on me and make me even better at reading, I'll give you River and her children." He replied.

Reagan's face lit up with hope. It took her a moment to collect herself and answer Simon she was so giddy over the sudden turn of events. "If you can bring your sister back with you Simon I'm sure I can give you everything you want and more." Reagan promised.

"I'll be in touch as soon as I have a plan." Simon replied and terminated the wave.

Reagan leaned back in her chair and smiled widely, her headache easing off for the first time in weeks. She couldn't believe her luck, but part of her wasn't surprised. Simon had always wanted to be the best and he'd always been overshadowed by his younger sister. Now that he'd had a taste of being extraordinary it wasn't hard to believe that he would want more of it. Reagan smiled widely when she began to think of the experiments she was going to run on Simon, even if he didn't survive, the information she would get would be more than worth his life.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"Simon please don't do this!" River screamed as two armed guards grabbed her arms and pulled her onto an Alliance shuttle. She screamed a second time as a strong contraction ripped through her body.

"Simon this wasn't the plan! Please don't let her take the babies! Simon!" She shrieked one final time before the door to the shuttle closed and cut off her cries.

"I promise I'll take care of her Simon. And her children as well. They'll be even more powerful than their mother. You'll see, it will be amazing." Reagan promised as she walked up beside her son and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Simon sighed painfully and brushed her arm away.

"I know it had to be done. River and I, we both need what the Academy can provide. But did you have to kill him? He did so much for the two of us when we had no one else." Simon replied and nodded to the still and bloody form of Mal lying on the dirt ten feet from them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Five Months Earlier**

"Mei-mei slow down!" Simon shouted from the catwalk above the cargo bay.

Down below him River was leaping and twisting as she practiced a series of hand to hand combat moves. She stopped mid-stride when Simon yelled and looked up at him with the same annoyed expression she'd been giving him since she was three. He rolled his eyes and sighed in exasperation as he headed down the stairs towards his little sister.

"Simon I feel fine. I feel better than I have in months!" River protested.

"Well most pregnant women feel better once they enter the second trimester. But it doesn't mean you can do anything you want. Your body is changing rapidly to accommodate the babies' growth. It's going to leave you much more prone to muscle tears and tendon strain. This goes double for you since you're carrying twins." Simon lectured.

"But you said I could continue doing normal activities as long as it was comfortable." She reminded with a whine.

"Well when I said that I didn't think you'd be down here practicing killing people."

"Is it going to hurt the babies?" She asked suddenly concerned.

"No probably not. If you aren't in any pain I'm sure the babies are fine. But if you happened to slip and fall you could risk a miscarriage. You just need to slow down and learn to take it easy." He ordered.

River nodded and put a hand protectively around her expanding belly.

"I will from now on Simon. I just want to keep my skills sharp just in case something goes wrong with the plan." She whispered.

Simon pulled River into a hug and rubbed her back comfortingly.

"I know mei-mei. I want to stop them as much as you do, but don't you think maybe Mal's right? Maybe we should wait until after the babies are born." He suggested.

"You're a reader now Simon. Use those skills. Clear your mind and reach out. You'll feel it coming just like I do. You'll feel her coming." She whispered still clinging tightly to him.

Simon did as she said and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and let his mind clear. Suddenly the thoughts and emotions of everyone on the ship grew much louder, he skimmed over them for a moment and then forced them out of his head as well. He wasn't sure what River was talking about for awhile, but then after two or three minutes he suddenly became aware of what she meant. It was like a dark spot in his brain, a tiny black hole worming its way into his mind. Almost instinctually he knew that he was sensing his mother's plan to come for them and he knew that she planned to do it before River's children were born.

Simon took a long deep breath and finally released his sister. He didn't talk about what he'd felt, he knew there was no need. Ever since he'd been turned into a reader he and River had developed the ability to communicate without speech. It wasn't exactly like reading each other's thoughts. They simply shared emotions and mental images as easily as if they were having a conversation. The ability came in handy when it was something painful to talk about or something difficult to explain in words. Their current situation was both painful and difficult to explain and Simon was grateful that he and River could both understand it without the need of talking about it extensively.

"She wants the babies." River whispered.

"Well she isn't going to get them. You're plan will work River I'm sure of it." Simon comforted.

"I'll die before I let her take them." River stated with conviction.

"I know you will mei-mei. So will I, so will everyone on this ship." Simon assured her.

A/N- I know this chapter is quite a bit shorter than usual, but it seemed like it needed to end right here. I'll try and update soon, but I guarantee nothing. Planning a wedding is very time consuming!


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

"Alright Cap'n now you just get behind River and hold her up. Ok now ya just rub her back and River you do that breathin I showed ya." Kaylee said.

"Kaylee I don't see why we gotta do this whole llama stuff. You really think it's gonna help?" Mal whined. He felt like a fool sitting on the floor rubbing River's back with a rubber ball.

Kaylee and River both giggled. "It's Lamaze ai-ren not llama. People have been using these methods for hundreds of years to help with pain management during child birth." River explained.

"Yeah, but can't Simon just give ya drugs ta take away the pain? Don't see why you gotta suffer if ya don't have to." Mal protested.

"I'm sure Simon can give me medication that will help my discomfort, but what if something happens and he isn't around when the babies come? I would like to be prepared just in case I have to go through labor without the aid of pain medicine." River replied reasonably.

Mal didn't want to think about why Simon might not be with them for the delivery, but a dozen scenarios, each one worse than the one before it, flashed through his mind. He cleared his throat and forced his mind to concentrate on the weird breathing and massage stuff that Kaylee was teaching them.

"I promise Cap'n all three a my big sisters did Lamaze when they had their babies and they all said it helped a lot." Kaylee reassured him.

"Well if you girls both think it's a good idea I'll go along with it." Mal conceded.

River turned as much as her stomach would allow and hugged her husband. Mal placed his hand on her large belly and smiled brightly when his hand was met with a strong kick from one of his girls.

Fifteen minutes later Kaylee declared that they had learned enough for one day. Mal stood up quickly and helped River struggle to her feet. He couldn't believe there was only one month left until the babies were due. It seemed like the last three months had flown by and suddenly here they were thirty days or so from becoming parents. He watched as River groaned and rubbed her back once she was on her feet. Mal did feel sorry for his wife, she was so petite and carrying two babies was definitely a strain on her tiny body.

"You feel like hoppin in a shower with me before dinner bao-bei?" Mal whispered in River's ear.

"Don't think I'll be doing much hopping, but a hot shower does sound like a very good idea." River replied.

Mal watched as River unbuttoned her dress and let it fall to the floor. In the last three months River had repeatedly declared how much she now hated her body and Mal couldn't understand how she could think that. He thought his wife had never looked as sexy as she did carrying his children. He loved the way her body had changed to accommodate their growing girls and he couldn't seem to keep his hands off of her. He felt his pulse speed up as River stepped into the hot water and sighed in pleasure as the water hit her aching back.

Mal joined her in the shower and began to massage her lower back. River smiled in appreciation and leaned against the wall so that he could better rub her knotted muscles.

"That's perfect ai-ren. Now I know why I married you." River said with a contended sigh.

"See I knew you only wanted me for my back rubbing skills." Mal said with mock hurt.

"Well you've found out my secret. I've always been after you for your skills as a masseuse and nothing else." She teased back.

Mal smiled and leaned forward to nibble on her neck. River moaned in pleasure and pushed herself up against Mal, her backside rubbing enticingly against his already growing erection. He cupped her breasts with both hands, noticing how much bigger they had grown in just the last few days. Mal lowered River gently to the floor of the shower and turned the shower a bit hotter before lowering himself down on top of his wife.

River smiled up at him and Mal felt himself nearly lose control just from that one look, she was so beautiful. Mal moved to kneel between River's legs, careful to not lean on her stomach. She cried out in pleasure when he entered her and they began to move in a slow steady rhythm together.

River reached her climax quickly, her legs tightening around Mal's waist as she screamed in ecstasy. Mal finished a few seconds after River, his own cries louder than his wife's. They lay side by side on the floor afterward letting the hot water splash down on their naked bodies.

Mal let his thoughts drift back to the first time they had made love. Mal had heard River singing in the shower and she'd invited him into the shower room. He thought about that night every time he took a shower and ever since then he and River had made it a habit of making love in the shower.

"That was a wonderful night." River said sleepily, reading the memories from his mind.

"It was. But then again every time we've been together has been wonderful." Mal replied.

"Mm-hmm." She agreed and stretched beside him.

Mal stood up and helped River struggle to her feet before he turned off the hot water. They dried off and got dressed in silence, both of them enjoying having a lazy afternoon to make love and relax.

"You ready for the next couple days?" Mal asked.

"I wish we weren't landing on Whitefall. You seem to get shot every time we land there." River commented.

"Hey I didn't get shot last time. I almost got shot, there's a difference." Mal protested.

"I fear that won't be the case this time." She said in the far off voice she often had when she was reading.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Simon. I was beginning to think you'd changed your mind. It's been over three months." Reagan said as soon as Simon's face appeared on the cortex screen in her office.

"I told you I would contact you once I had a plan. It took awhile. We haven't been staying on planet for long periods of time. Captain Reynolds is doing everything he can to stay off the radar." Simon replied.

"So since you're contacting me I assume you've come up with a plan?" Reagan asked.

"We'll be landing on Whitefall the day after tomorrow. The captain is delivering some contraband supplies out to the middle of nowhere. I think I can get River outside alone so that you can pick us both up. That way no one on Serenity will have to be hurt."

Reagan was silent as she considered what Simon had told her.

"I'm serious Mother. I don't want any of the crew hurt. I'm doing this because I want River and I to become everything we were designed to be. But that doesn't mean I'm willing to let you hurt innocent people." Simon threatened.

Reagan nodded and gave Simon a reassuring smile.

"Very well Simon. If you can get River away from the ship, I will instruct my men to only apprehend her and to hurt no one else on board Serenity. You have my word." Reagan promised.

"Thank you mother. We will be landing on Whitefall at 0600 hours. I should be able to get River off the ship within the hour. We'll walk north half a mile from where Serenity is landed. Meet us there with a shuttle." Simon instructed.

Reagan nodded and began to write something down. "Alright Simon, I'll see you in two days on Whitefall." She replied before Simon switched off the wave.

"Set a course for Whitefall Ma'am?" Reagan's assistant asked.

"Yes. I want at least twenty men on the main ship. We'll take the shuttle and pick up Simon and River. We need to sedate River on sight. I want the men and the main ship sent over to Serenity. Kill everyone on board and destroy their ship. I don't want anyone left alive who might try to rescue River again." Reagan ordered.

"Of course Ma'am." Her assistant said and hurried from the room.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hey Simon can I talk to ya?" Mal asked as he stuck his head into the infirmary.

"Um sure Mal. Come in." Simon said nervously and turned away from the blank Cortex screen.

"Just wanted to make sure we're ready for landing on Whitefall. Ain't been too lucky the last couple a times we done business there. I just want to be sure we're all prepared for whatever might go down this time." Mal explained.

"Of course. I can understand why you're nervous. I think we're all prepared. I have the supplies all ready and inventoried. The infirmary is totally stocked up. We should be all set." Simon replied.

"Good to know. Thanks Doc." Mal said brightly and left the room.

Simon swallowed nervously and opened the cabinet to examine a bottle he'd already checked at least ten times. He did the calculations once again in his head and determined that he had all the sedative he was going to need once they landed on Whitefall.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

River stretched in bed beside Mal and then winced as a sharp pain shot across her stomach. She sucked in a sharp breath and put a hand on her stomach. The pain ended a few seconds later and she calmly assessed the situation. She was still a month from her due date and the pain had only lasted for a few seconds. River determined that it hadn't been a real contraction. Simon had warned her that she may experience false labor during the last month or so and she figured the pain must have been just that.

Once she determined that she was experiencing false labor she climbed out of bed and slipped a dress over her head. It was still early so the rest of the ship was still asleep. She had been able to shave a few hours off their trip so they would be entering Whitefall's atmosphere two hours early. River sank into the pilot's seat on the bridge and stared out at Whitefall as it grew larger and larger in her view. When another sharp pain hit her a few minutes later she forced herself to breathe through it and again determined it was simply false labor.

Mal woke up when the gentle hum of Serenity's engine suddenly stopped. He bolted out of bed and up to the bridge in less than thirty seconds.

"The engines ain't runnin!" He shouted when he saw River in the pilot's chair.

"Ai-ren slow down." River said calmly and began to giggle.

It was then that Mal noticed that outside the large window behind River was not the Black like he expected but the dusty landscape of Whitefall.

"Oh we here already?" He asked sheepishly.

"Landed a minute ago. I'm sorry I didn't mean to cause you such panic, I was able to land us two hours early." River explained.

"Panic? Hey I wasn't panicked I was the perfect amount of concerned about my ship." Mal replied.

"Ai-ren you're in your underwear." River pointed out.

Mal looked down at his unclothed body and then back up at his wife.

"Oh yeah, well its um hot in here ya know?" He stuttered.

River suppressed a smile and nodded. "Yes it is warm in here." She agreed.

Mal turned to go get dressed when he saw River grimace in pain.

"You alright bao-bei?" He asked.

River nodded quickly and the pained expression disappeared from her face.

"I'm fine. Just false labor pain. Simon said it would probably happen during the last month." She assured him.

"You sure? Maybe I should go wake your brother and let him check ya out." Mal suggested.

"I'm fine ai-ren. I promise. The pain is gone already." She said. She stood up quickly and kissed him lightly.

"Alright if yer sure. But you let me know if anything else happens. We got a big day today."

"Yes hopefully the job will go smoothly." River said.

"Well lets just hope Patience didn't get wind a the fact that we're landed here." Mal said.

"She doesn't' know we are here. At least not yet." River assured him.

"Good. Well you think we should go get some breakfast and wake up the rest a this lazy crew?"

"Maybe you should put some clothes on first ai-ren." River suggested.

"Yeah that's probly a good idea huh?"

"Hey River you feel like taking a walk with me?" Simon asked after breakfast.

"If you want Simon, but wouldn't you rather go with Kaylee?" River asked as she dried the breakfast dishes.

"Can't I gotta run an engine check since we're gonna be planet side long enough ta do it." Kaylee said.

"I thought it would be good for you to get out and get some exercise and some fresh air." Simon explained.

"Alright a walk does sound like a good idea." River agreed.

"Well we're headin out fer the drop. Should be back in an hour er so." Mal said as he kissed River goodbye.

"Be careful ai-ren. Love you." She said.

"Love you too bao-bei." He replied and climbed up into the Mule.

"Ready mei-mei?" Simon asked.

River watched the Mule disappear over a hill and tried to ignore the pain running across her stomach. She nodded and followed Simon out of Serenity. They had been walking for ten minutes or so when River felt another sharp pain. This one was so intense that she doubled over and cried out. Simon rushed to her side and held her up as her knees buckled.

"River?" He asked in concern.

"Simon I think the babies are coming." She whimpered. She took a deep breath as the pain eased off.

"Is that the first contraction you've felt?" Simon asked as he began to take her pulse.

"No they started early this morning. I thought it was false labor, but they've been getting stronger." She answered.

"How often are the pains coming?"

"Roughly every twelve to fifteen minutes, but the last two were only six minutes apart."

Simon took a deep breath and looked off in the distance.

"Alright well we need to head back to the ship." He said and began pulling River back in the direction they had come from.

Almost as soon as the words were out of his mouth he heard the whine of a ship. The siblings turned around to see an Alliance shuttle land in front of them. River began to tremble and looked in horror as the door opened and her mother stepped out. Two armed guards with tranquilizer guns were right behind her along with Reagan's assistant.

"You know Simon I really thought that this was a setup you and your sister had cooked up. I'm so pleased to see you kept your end of the deal." Reagan said as she walked towards the siblings.

River looked in horror at her brother. "Simon what did you do? This wasn't what we had planned."

"I'm sorry River, but things will be better for us at the Academy. Mother has promised to make us so much stronger. We were meant to be so much more than we are right now River, don't you want to be more powerful?" Simon pleaded with his sister.

"No I don't want any of this. How could you do this Simon? They're going to take the babies." She shrieked and forced her body into a fighting stance despite the contraction that hit her suddenly.

"River if you decide to fight then these two men are going to tranquilize you. A tranquilizer is going to hurt the babies, so I suggest you don't fight." Reagan warned.

River's shoulders slumped in defeat and she began to cry.

"I had a feeling you was up to something Simon." Mal said suddenly walking over a hill with his gun pointed at Simon.

"Mal." River shouted with relief.

"Its ok bao-bei. Ain't no one taking my girls anywhe…" Mal was cut off as a loud shot rang through the air. The bullet caught him straight in the chest and a spray of blood hit the dirt in front of him as he fell to his knees.

River screamed in horror and ran with Simon to her husband.

"Is he dead?" Reagan asked as she calmly handed her pistol to her assistant.

"Yes." Simon whispered.

Reagan walked over and felt Mal's neck herself. She nodded in satisfaction when she had determined that the Captain was dead.

River screamed again and launched herself at Reagan determined to tear the woman apart with her bare hands. The two guards hurried over and took River's arms and began pulling her to the shuttle.

"Simon please don't do this!" River begged and then screamed again from the pain of another contraction.

Simon looked at the ground in shame as his sister was pulled onto the shuttle.

"Simon this wasn't the plan! Please don't let her take the babies! Simon!" She cried out as the door to the shuttle shut.

"I promise I'll take care of her Simon. And her children as well. They'll be even more powerful than their mother. You'll see, it will be amazing."

"I know it had to be done. River and I, we both need what the Academy can provide. But did you have to kill him? He did so much for the two of us when we had no one else."

Simon gave Mal's body one final glance and sighed regretfully.

"We'd better get on board. River's in labor." Simon told Reagan.

River was sitting in a chair with her arms curled protectively around her stomach as she cried for her husband.

"I'm sorry it has to be this way River, but soon you'll see its for the best. Think of all the amazing opportunities your children will have now. Things you could never have given them being married to a lowly space criminal and flitting about the Universe." Reagan said as she took the seat across from River.

River simply continued to rock back and forth and cry. Simon sat beside her and put a hand on her shoulder. River shook it off viciously and glared at her brother.

"Rex I want you to take the shuttle to the main ship." Reagan instructed her assistant briskly.

"Sorry Ma'am I can't do that." Her assistant replied.

"And why not?" Reagan asked angrily.

"Cause I don't work for you no more." Rex answered and stood up.

Reagan opened her mouth to yell at him, but stopped when she realized that the shuttle had become nearly silent. She turned to see that River had stopped sobbing and was no longer curled into a ball. She and Simon were looking coldly at their mother. Without a word between them the siblings stood. Moving so quickly that they were a blur to Reagan's eyes they moved in unison behind the two guards and snapped their necks before either of the men could even attempt to stop them.

"What are you doing? Simon?" Reagan shouted.

"Sorry mother but I changed the plan a little." Simon answered coldly.

"I thought we had an agreement." She replied.

"Well we did, unfortunately I was playing you the entire time. Did you really believe I would hand over my sister and her children to you? How very naive." Simon said coldly and pushed Reagan back into her seat.

"Rex! Get on the Cortex, wave the ship, get them here." Reagan instructed.

"Like I said I don't work for you no more. Actually I wouldn't say I ever really worked for you in the first place, I was just doin it to get info for the good doctor here. Ya know I was the one who helped break him and his sis out a few months back." Rex informed her happily. "You killed my sister you choubi!" He added.

Reagan's face went pale as it occurred to her that she was now alone with three people who were working against her.

"What are you planning to do? I sent twenty men to your ship and we know your captain is dead. There isn't anyone to help you and my men will kill you as soon as they realize I'm not in charge anymore." She threatened.

"That's the first correct thing I've heard you say in a long time mother." River spit. "You aren't in charge anymore!"

"Oh and I'm sure your men are dead by now. We knew you'd send people to the ship, our crew is prepared." Simon replied.

"I don't understand. How could you know all this?" Reagan whimpered.

"You're the one who made River and I so smart, weren't you ever afraid we'd use it against you? Plus we've had Rex here telling us your every move for the last five months." Simon explained.

"Rex was the one who told us all about the bugs hidden on Serenity. It's a good thing he told us, we had no idea you'd programmed Inara to hide them. But once he told us about them it was easy to let you hear only what we wanted you to hear." River told her looking smug.

"I wouldn't look so smug, your husband is still dead." Reagan spat bitterly to River.

Rex stood and walked out of the shuttle without a word, pulling the two bodies of the guards with him. He returned a few minutes later with Mal's still and bloody body in his arms. He laid the body down on the long row of seats behind River and Simon. After putting Mal down Rex moved to the front of the shuttle to stand beside Reagan and keep watch over her.

Simon moved to Mal's side and ripped open his shirt. Mal's chest was splattered with blood, but when Reagan looked closely she saw no bullet wound anywhere. Simon pulled a syringe from his pocket and inserted it into Mal's neck. After a few seconds Mal jolted upright and began to cough violently. River moved to her husband and rubbed his back comfortingly while he wheezed and coughed.

"I don't understand. How did you- How did you do this?" Reagan stammered.

"Well we wanted things to look realistic, didn't want you to be suspicious. And I knew if you thought you'd killed River's husband you'd think it was real. Ever heard of a squib? It's basically a balloon full of blood that explodes at a certain time. My wife was able to make one easily. River blew the squib with the detonator in her pocket and Mal just had to act like he was dying. I injected him with enough sedative to stop his heart when I went to examine him. Voila you thought you killed River's husband and were convinced you'd be getting River and I back to the Academy." Simon sat down across from Reagan as he finished his explanation and smiled brightly at her.

"But I shot him, with my gun." Reagan protested.

"You mean the gun Rex stole from you this morning and put blanks into. Yeah we counted on that. Rex can you take us back to the ship? I want to make sure there haven't been any problems with the soldiers." Simon asked with the same grin spread across his face as he stared at Reagan.

Rex nodded and moved to the front of the shuttle and quickly lifted off.

"I can't believe you did all of this." Reagan whispered bitterly.

"I think its funny that after all you've done to us you could be surprised by anything." River muttered and then grimaced once again.

"River how far apart are the contractions?" Simon asked with concern.

"You're having contractions?" Mal rasped hoarsely.

River nodded and did the deep breathing exercise Kaylee had taught her.

"The contractions are four minutes apart." She panted.

Mal looked at Simon in a panic.

"Ain't that really close together?" He screeched.

"Don't worry Mal. It's her first birth it's still going to be awhile." Simon reassured the nervous captain.

"We're here." Rex said over his shoulder just as the shuttle bumped onto the ground. "Sorry I ain't flown a shuttle in fifteen years, I'm a bit rusty." Rex remarked.

"S'long as we're here and my ships in one piece you can fly however ya want." Mal grumbled as he stood up and swayed a bit. He steadied himself and then put a hand out to help River up.

"So I take it you plan on holding me hostage? Using me as a bargaining chip with the men who run the Academy?" Reagan asked when Simon yanked her roughly towards the door of the shuttle.

"Nah. We just plan on torturin ya till you tell us what we want to know." Mal remarked casually as he and River left the ship.

The ground outside the shuttle was littered with the bodies of Alliance soldiers. Mal noted that nearly half of them were shot clean through the head, definitely Zoe's work. The rest hadn't been killed as cleanly but still none of them had suffered and more importantly none of them had been able to hurt any of his crew. Zoe, Jayne, and Kaylee were sitting in the cargo bay when they walked in, all three jumped up quickly and looked relieved to see their crew mates alive.

"The squib work?" Kaylee asked.

"Just like we planned." Simon replied and hurried over to embrace his wife and kiss her deeply. Although Simon knew he would never betray his sister, wife, or crew just pretending to go against them over the last few days had been a strain.

River groaned again and the noise seemed to spring everyone into action.

"Rex you mind taken Mrs. Tam to one a our passenger bunks and lock her up for me? Simon and me are gonna take River here to the infirmary. Zoe you get us off world soon as possible." Mal instructed.

River had always thought she couldn't possible love her brother anymore than she already did. Fifteen minutes later when he gave her pain medicine to dull the contractions she realized she'd been wrong.

"You feelin better now bao-bei?" Mal asked when he saw the dopey smile on his wife's face.

"I love Simon very much. He's my favorite person." She slurred.

"That medicine is going to make her really loopy." Simon whispered to Mal.

"Yeah I noticed." Mal whispered back. "Hey bao-bei I thought I was your favorite person." He said loudly.

"Well you were, but you did this to me and Simon made it better. So now he is my favorite person." River mumbled and then giggled drunkenly.

Mal moved up to River's head while Simon examined her.

"You're progressing well River. I'd say in another few hours I think you two are going to be parents." Simon informed them.

"Can I have more of the pain medicine?" River asked hopefully.

Simon and Mal both chuckled. "Yes mei-mei I think we can arrange that. Now I'm going to go out and let you and Mal have some privacy. Try to get some sleep River you're going to need all of your energy when its time to push." Simon instructed as he headed towards the door.

"Can you believe we're gonna be parents pretty soon?" Mal asked with a grin and gave River a quick kiss.

"They will love you very much ai-ren." River said seriously.

"Yeah but probably not as much as they'll love you." Mal argued.

"Good if I'm going through all this pain they'd better love me more." River joked.

Suddenly River sat up and grabbed Mal's arm tightly.

"You feelin them contractions again?" He asked with concern.

"My mother is out. She has a gun. Rex is dead." River whispered.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Mal stood gaping at River like a fish on dry land for nearly thirty seconds trying to process what she had said. River suddenly pulled the fetal monitor off of her stomach and attempted to stand up. It was this action that brought Mal back to the present.

"Hey you stay right where you are. If your ma's out I'll deal with her." Mal instructed firmly and pushed River back onto the bed. She didn't argue and only nodded her head when he slipped from the room.

As soon as he stepped into the hall Simon rushed up to him with a gun in each hand. He tossed one to Mal and kept one for himself.

"Yer sis says yer ma's out. She said Rex is dead." Mal informed him.

"I know I felt it too. We have to get to Rex now if there's going to be any chance of saving him." Simon replied and the two men started quietly down the hall towards the passenger bunks.

Simon grabbed Mal's arm and pulled him to a stop without making a sound. He had his head cocked to one side and was gazing blankly ahead. At that moment Simon looked so much like his sister that Mal felt shivers run up his back.

"She's on the bridge. She's got Zoe, Mal." Simon whispered sadly.

Mal turned to head to the bridge and then remembered Rex. They continued on to the passenger bunk that Reagan had been locked in and found Rex crumpled on the floor just inside the door. Reagan had managed to sneak up behind him and had shot him in the back of the head. Simon didn't even have to examine him to know it was too late to help him.

"He's gone there's nothing I can do." Simon told Mal sadly.

"Let's get to the bridge." The captain replied darkly.

They met Jayne coming out of the galley.

"S'goin on?" He asked seeing the guns in their hands.

"Reagan's out. She killed Rex and she's holdin Zoe on the bridge." Mal explained.

Jayne pulled the gun from its holster at his hip and began to storm from the room.

"Jayne stop!" Simon shouted. "My mother isn't in her right mind, she's completely lost touch with reality. If any of us go rushing in there she'll kill Zoe without thinking twice about it." Simon warned.

"So what do ya suggest we do?" Jayne asked, his face a mask of fury.

"Let me go in there alone. I'll try and talk to her." Simon replied.

"Um I'm thinking not so much on that plan Doc. If she kills you, not only will you be dead, but just who do you suggest goes up and delivers my daughters in the very near future?" Mal asked.

"Mal please trust me on this. I'm telling you I can read her from here. She's not thinking clearly, she's scared and confused. She isn't going to listen to anyone except River or I. So either I go in there or we send River in." Simon answered.

Mal nodded and sighed in frustration. "Fine go, but if she kills you, you're fired." He added as Simon walked from the room.

He walked up the steps to the bridge quietly. He could see his mother standing just behind Zoe, both of them facing away from him.

"Mother its Simon. Can I come up and talk to you?" He asked quietly not wanting to startle her.

Reagan whipped around quickly pulling Zoe with her, she had a gun pressed against Zoe's temple. Zoe had the same calm look on her face that she almost always had and wisely remained quiet.

"Simon? They've taken us. The Independents. They want you and your sister. They want you because you're special. I never told you about you and your sister. You're both so special and I made you that way and…" Reagan's babbling trailed off into sobs.

"Ok Mother. I understand. But I've got things under control. So why don't you let the woman go. Then maybe you can tell me about how special River and I are." Simon urged gently.

"I can't let her go Simon. She'll take you and your sister. They want you, but the Alliance needs you. I'm going to give you to the Alliance and you'll be the greatest blessing they've ever had." Reagan cried.

Simon pulled the gun out from behind his back and leveled it at Zoe.

"Its alright Mother see I have a gun on her. You can let her go and I'll take her out of here and hand her over to the guards." Simon urged again.

Reagan nodded slowly, her eyes darting around the room wildly. Slowly she released her hold on Zoe and pushed her towards Simon. Still playing his part Simon grabbed Zoe roughly and put the gun to her back. He pushed her from the room and down the stairs to where Mal and Jayne were waiting anxiously. Jayne rushed forward and pulled Zoe into his arms kissing her roughly.

From behind him Simon heard Reagan scream in rage.

"He's with them Simon! He's an Independent!" She shouted and lunged out of the bridge towards Mal her gun pointed straight at him.

Without thinking Simon turned and fired. Reagan dropped to the ground at his feet. Simon dropped the gun and sank to his knees, staring in shock at the crumpled body of the woman he'd always considered to be his mother. Zoe was the first one to move, she rushed up the stairs and pulled the gun from Reagan's hand before turning the woman over onto her back. Simon saw that without even thinking about it his aim had been nearly perfect, another quirk of having advanced genes he thought. The bullet had gone straight through her heart. Simon knew from one look that she was already dead. Zoe checked for a pulse and then gently closed Reagan's eyes.

"I'm sorry Simon." She whispered and placed a hand on Simon's arm, breaking him out of his reverie.

"I'd better go check on River." He said and jumped to his feet.

"Simon if ya need ta talk or ya need a few minutes…" Mal began.

"Mal River is probably going to deliver in the next couple hours and with it being twins the chances that she'll need a C-section are a lot higher. I just need to concentrate on that right now. I can think about all of this later." He replied tensely and pushed past Mal and Jayne.

"Hey mei-mei how are you doing?" Simon asked brightly as he walked through the door.

Kaylee had been sitting at River's side holding her hand, but jumped up when Simon walked in.

"It's alright everything's taken care of." He assured the two women hoping to not have to go into detail until after the babies were safely born.

Simon busied himself checking River's vitals and the read out from the fetal monitor.

"Simon." River said suddenly and put a hand on Simon's arm to stop his busy work. "I'm sorry Simon." She said sadly.

"Can't hide anything from a reader huh?" He said with a bitter laugh.

"You'd know that better than most people would." She pointed out.

The siblings shared a sad smile and Simon allowed his mind to be open so that River could read all that had happened and all that he was feeling. The moment was interrupted when River sucked in a sharp breath and squeezed his hand tightly.

"You promised I could have more pain medicine." She told him sounding much less caring than she had a moment before.

"Alright, I just need to examine you first and see how much progress you've made." Simon replied.

"Do it fast." She ordered.

Kaylee left the room while Simon completed the exam and when Simon opened the door he found Mal waiting anxiously outside.

"Can I have the pain medicine now?" River asked nearly shouting at Simon.

"Um River I have some bad news for you." Simon replied.

"What's the matter Doc?" Mal asked instantly concerned.

"Well nothings wrong, its just River is dilated to ten centimeters. That means that its time for her to push." Simon explained and turned to River. "Which means that you can't have anymore pain medicine, it will make the babies too sleepy and we need them alert once they're born."

River gave him a look so full of anger that Simon involuntarily took a step back. He knew just how dangerous his sister could be and he was suddenly concerned that perhaps she really could kill him with her brain.

"You said I could have pain medicine Simon. You said it wouldn't hurt." River said through gritted teeth.

"I know mei-mei. I'm sorry I had to leave. But you're really good at dealing with pain. I know you'll be able to get through this." Simon assured her warmly.

"I know I'm good at dealing with pain Simon. And I know I'll get through this, but I don't want to deal with it. I want drugs!" She yelled.

"Bao-bei it ain't Simon's fault. I'm sure if he could give ya the drugs he would. Maybe you should try that Lamaze stuff Kaylee taught ya." Mal suggested gingerly.

"Oh what do you know? You don't have to push them out! And you did this to me! I hate you!" She cried as another contraction started.

"Don't worry I've heard women say that a lot. She doesn't really hate you." Simon comforted after seeing the look on Mal's face.

"Yes I do!" River screamed.

"Bao-bei just try ta breath ok? Remember in through the nose and out through the mouth." Mal said.

"Fuck the rutting breathing!" She yelled.

The contraction ended a few seconds later and River took a deep breath and looked up at Mal with tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry ai-ren I don't really hate you." She whimpered.

"I know ya don't love its ok." Mal assured her as he wiped her sweaty brow with a cool cloth. "I'm sorry yer hurtin so bad. Sorry for my part in makin it happen."

River started to reply but sucked in a sharp breath and grabbed Mal's hand in a death grip when another contraction started.

"Alright River go ahead and push." Simon instructed.

River gripped Mal's hand even tighter as she pushed with everything she had. Mal couldn't believe someone as tiny as her could have such a strong grip and he was worried that he'd never be able to fire a gun with that hand again.

"Bao-bei you're breaking my hand." He whispered.

"Good." She grunted as she continued to push.

The contraction ended and River collapsed back against the bed as she struggled to catch her breath.

"That was really good River. The first baby is starting to crown." Simon informed the couple.

"What's that mean?" Mal asked.

"It means I can see the baby's head." Simon explained.

River screamed and started to push again. Mal grimaced as River once again began crushing his hand.

"That's great River. Keep going. Just a little longer." Simon encouraged excitedly.

River fell back against the bed again and panted harshly from the exertion.

"Alright River the heads out. One more push and you'll have your first born daughter." Simon promised.

River nodded and clenched her teeth in determination, she took a deep breath as the contraction started and began to push even harder.

"Mal can you come help me?" Simon asked.

"What? Down there?" Mal mumbled.

"Yes Mal you're going to need to take the first baby so that I can get River ready to deliver the second baby." Simon replied.

He reluctantly moved to the end of the table and around to stand beside Simon. Mal knew he was a brave man. He'd been through and seen more horrors than most people in the Verse could even dream of. But suddenly seeing his wife trying to deliver their first daughter was a sight he wasn't prepared for. His head began to feel tingly and dark spots swam in front of his eyes.

"Oh go-se. Kaylee get in here!" Simon shouted.

Kaylee opened the door and was shocked to find Mal sprawled on the ground in front of her.

"Simon what?" She stuttered.

"Mal passed out. I need your help." Simon explained. "Ok River good. One more push." Simon shouted and then stood up as he caught the first baby in his arms.

"Good River. You did great!" Simon shouted excitedly and handed the baby to Kaylee after cutting the umbilical cord.

Kaylee hurried to River and placed the baby in her arms. Simon leaned over Mal and slapped him firmly across the cheek. Mal's eyes popped open and he stared around the room in bewilderment.

"Wha happened?" He mumbled.

"You passed out." Simon explained and turned back to River.

Mal hurried to his feet and looked around embarrassedly. It took him a second to realize that River was holding a baby in her arms. He moved quickly to her side and stared down at his tiny daughter.

"Wow. We have a baby." He whispered in astonishment.

"Yes ai-ren we do." River said with a smile.

"River you should give the baby to Kaylee now. It's almost time to push again." Simon interrupted.

The contractions started again a minute later.

"Come on River I know you're tired but you have to push harder." Simon shouted.

"I don't want to push anymore I already had a baby." River shouted back.

"You can do it bao-bei." Mal urged gently as he held onto her hand.

River's face turned bright red as she pushed even harder. When the contraction ended she fell into Mal's arms and let out a huge relieved breath.

Mal heard the tiny cry of his second daughter a few seconds later.

"Another girl. She's just as healthy as her sister." Simon informed the parents and brought the second baby up for them to see.

"You sure Doc? They seem really tiny." Mal said.

"Well twins are usually a bit smaller than single babies and they are a month early. But they're both breathing strong and their reflexes are fine. I'd say they're perfectly healthy." Simon assured him.

Mal couldn't believe how alike the girls were. They were completely identical; from their tiny pink faces to their fuzzy heads of dark hair.

"They look just like you bao-bei." Mal whispered.

"I see much of their father in them as well." She said proudly.

Simon finished cleaning up River and slipped quietly from the room. He figured the two parents would want time alone with their new arrivals.

"Do they like us?" Mal asked as he gazed down at the tiny girl in his arms. River likewise couldn't stop staring at the little girl she held as well.

"Well seeing as how we gave them life I think they like us just fine." River teased.

"Can't ya just read em and find out?"

"Ai-ren are you saying I should already start invading the minds of our children? They're not even an hour old." River admonished.

"Hey the sooner the better. Just think how handy yer reading will be when they're teenagers." Mal pointed out.

"Very true." River agreed and then yawned widely.

"You should get some sleep bao-bei. You did alotta work today." Mal suggested.

River nodded and yawned widely again. She lifted her arm and deposited the baby she was holding into Mal's other arm. Mal looked down to adjust the now two sleeping babies he held and when he looked back at his wife she was already fast asleep.

"Guess we should head out and let yer ma get some rest huh girls?" He whispered.

When Mal reached the door he realized he couldn't open it with the two girls in his arms. After a few minutes of struggling he was able to wedge the door open with his knee and slip out of the room. By the time he was done he was sweating and breathing heavily from the effort. Just as he made it into the hallway one of the babies began to cry followed shortly by her sister.

Mal stared down at the two crying girls.

"Um…Help?"


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"I want to go to the funeral." River stated firmly.

"Babydoll I know she was yer ma, but ya just gave birth ta twins not even twelve hours ago. I don't think you traipsin outside is a good idea." Mal protested.

"Not Reagan's funeral I want to go to Rex's funeral. Reagan wasn't my mother. But Rex was a good friend who gave his life to help me. I owe it to him." She explained sadly.

"We haven't even talked about what ta do with Rex. Guess we're gonna be headin to Osiris then, ya know take him back ta his family." Mal pondered.

"No. We should take him to Haven. His family all preceded him into death. He has no one left on Osiris who cares. He should be with the rest of our family. He deserves to be honored just like them."

Mal nodded sadly and embraced his wife. "I'll set a course soon as I can."

Both of the new parents turned anxiously when one of the babies made a noise in her sleep. The baby continued to sleep on, unaware of the nervous audience she had.

"We really gotta think of names fer these two. And maybe a better way of tellin em apart. Cause the only way I can tell em apart is that the older one is wearin the red booties and the younger one's got pink." Mal said.

"When it's the right time we'll know what their names are. I want their names to mean something special." River replied.

"Alright well you let me know when it's the right time." Mal suggested and rose from the bed and headed to the bridge.

Mal stuck his head back in the door and asked, "You gonna be ok with both of em for awhile?"

"We'll be fine." River assured him.

"Well if ya need me just holler." Mal reminded as he left for the bridge.

Deciding to take advantage of both babies being asleep at once, River quickly slumped down into bed and fell asleep.

Two hours later she walked into the galley carrying both babies who were now wide awake.

"Hey mei-mei! You should be in bed." Simon declared.

"Always the worried doctor. I'm fine big brother, no need to be so over protective." River said with a grin.

Before Simon had time to argue further River walked over and deposited one of his nieces into his arms.

"Whoa um ok. I'm not that used to babies River. Are you sure I should be holding her?" Simon asked sounding near panic.

"I have complete confidence in you. Besides didn't you hold me when I was a baby? I'm sure you did fine then."

Simon looked uncomfortable and quickly tried to think about anything besides the one thing that so desperately wanted to pop into his head. Unfortunately it didn't work.

"You dropped me? Twice? Simon Tam I can't believe you never told me you dropped me!" River exclaimed.

"Well that's not exactly something you tell someone. Sorry I mean you wiggled a lot and it was hard to hold onto you. Besides you're still a super genius so it's not like there was any permanent damage." Simon replied defensively.

River gave him one last exasperated glance that dissolved into a broad grin a second later.

"How are you Simon? Yesterday must have been terrible for you." She asked.

Simon looked down at his new niece and studied her intently while he tried to sort through his thoughts.

"Does it make me a terrible person if I don't feel guilty? I keep thinking I should feel guilty for killing her, but the only thing I feel is relief." He admitted a few minutes later.

"Doesn't make you terrible at all. She may have pretended to be our mother, but she never was. She never even really acted like a mother. And she did horrible things to us and to the people we love." River stated matter of factly

"So you aren't sad at all?" He asked hopefully.

"No. If you hadn't killed her I would have. She would never have stopped trying to take the girls to the Academy. I'll do anything in the Verse I have to in order to stop that from happening to them." River said while gazing down at her daughter.

Simon again looked down at the tiny girl he held. She looked so much like River that he could almost believe he was a child again and seeing his mei-mei for the first time. He remembered the first time he had realized he was a big brother and he'd been determined to protect River at all costs. But he hadn't protected her from the Academy. Looking down at the two helpless girls who looked so much like their mother, Simon knew he would do anything in his power to protect them from the thing he hadn't been able to protect River from.

"She never would have stopped trying to get them would she?" Simon asked sadly.

"No she would have killed every person on this ship to get to them. Especially if she found out how strong they are." River told him.

"Strong? You mean they're like us?" Simon asked wondering how River could possibly know that already.

"Can't you feel it? Try reading them and you'll see." She instructed.

Simon forced his mind to clear like River had taught him and focused it down on the babies. He could sense instantly what River had explained. He could feel the force coming from each of the tiny girls. It was obvious that both of them would be readers even without the help of the Academy's procedures.

"You feel it too right?" River asked anxiously.

Simon nodded and tried to wrap his mind around what it would mean for his nieces.

"They're readers. I just wish I knew how that was possible. They haven't had their brains tampered with like we have. So how could they possibly be readers?" Simon asked.

River had to suppress a grin at the frustrated and confused look on her brother's face. Simon hated not being able to find an answer for something, especially something scientific.

"I guess it's possible that the genes are stronger in the second generation than they are in you and me. It usually takes a number of generations before evolution in the gene pool can be seen. But then again our genes have been drastically changed so the normal rules of biology may not apply." Simon babbled, more to himself than to River.

"Or perhaps we both had it at birth too. Maybe we naturally learned how to control it as we grew, and the only thing the Academy did was take away our defenses." River suggested proving once again to be the genius she was.

"If that were the case wouldn't we have known about it? I mean even if we were controlling it wouldn't we have been aware of it?" Simon asked.

"You always did say I had a third eye. And how is it possible that you lost so few patients? Far fewer than any of your colleagues. Maybe you knew what your patients needed before it was too late." River pointed out.

Simon opened his mouth to argue against River's idea, but he realized it made a lot of sense. He had gone to the best schools his entire life and he'd always managed to stand out, even against students who were every bit as bright as he was. So perhaps there was more at work than simply superior intelligence.

"Wow um this is going to take awhile to wrap my mind around." Simon muttered.

"Well you always were slower than me." River teased, so much the bratty little sister she'd always been.

"Brat." He muttered.

"Hey you're up!" Kaylee exclaimed. "Can I hold my nieces?"

"Of course you can." River said brightly and handed over the younger of the two girls.

"Oh River they are so cute. They look just like ya! You named them yet?" Kaylee gushed quickly.

"No naming is too important to rush. The right names will come when the time is right." River explained.

"Well names or not these are two a the prettiest babies I've ever seen." Kaylee replied.

River smiled proudly at the compliments her daughters were receiving. The smile suddenly turned into a wide yawn.

"River you should go get some sleep. Me and Simon can keep an eye on the girls." Kaylee suggested.

"No that's alright I'm fine." River protested and then yawned again.

"River you're exhausted. Go get some sleep." Simon ordered. "We'll come get you when the babies get hungry." He assured her and used one arm to push her towards the door.

River wanted to argue further but she was beyond exhausted and sore from giving birth and she wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep.

"Alright but if they become too difficult please come get me." She said as she headed down the hall to her and Mal's bunk.

Mal wandered into the galley an hour later, looking to get something to eat before heading to his bunk to check on his girls. He was surprised to find Kaylee and Simon sitting on the couch in the common room, each holding one of his daughters.

"Hey where's River?"

"She was so tired, we sent her ta bed. Me and Simon have been taken care a the girls." Kaylee explained.

"Well thanks for watching them, but I can take over now." Mal said. He couldn't seem to get enough of his new girls, although he still had no idea how to take care of babies, but they didn't seem to mind.

"You sure Captain. We can stay and help if ya want." Kaylee offered.

"Nah I'm good. Plus don't ya'll have some work needs doin?" Mal asked as he sat down and took the babies into his arms.

Simon and Kaylee exchanged glances and eye rolls before both of them mumbled a "Yes Captain" and left the room.

Mal had only been sitting with the babies for a few minutes when Zoe entered the room.

"Sorry Sir didn't mean to interrupt." She said quickly and turned to leave the room.

"It's ok Zo. You ain't interrupting." Mal assured her.

Zoe walked hesitantly over to the couch and stared down at the babies.

"You wanna hold one of em?" Mal asked as he moved over to make room for his best friend.

"Me Sir? Um don't know if that's a good idea, ain't ever really been around babies. Well since I was one." Zoe replied looking uncomfortable.

"I think you'll be fine. Hell I don't know nothin about babies and I'm doin it." He pointed out.

"Well Sir bein as how they're your daughters you don't have much choice." She remarked.

"And you're their Aunt Zoe, so you'll have to learn to hold em sooner or later." Mal argued and deposited the older of the two girls into Zoe's arms.

"Um ok… well she ain't cryin. That's good." Zoe stuttered as she shifted the baby around a little.

"They got names yet?" She asked.

"Nope. River says that we'll know when the time is right what to name them."

Zoe nodded not questioning the eccentricities of the reader. Usually the things River did that seemed strange made perfect sense in the long run.

"River wants us to bury Rex on Haven. Says he don't have any family on Osiris that'll want his body. Is that ok with you?" Mal asked. He figured if anyone had the right to protest the decision it was Zoe.

"It's fine with me. He was a brave man and he did a lot to help us. He deserves to be laid to rest in a place where people will remember him."

"You gonna be ok goin to Haven? We ain't been there since you and Jayne, well got to be you and Jayne." Mal asked uncomfortably.

Zoe had to smile at Mal's unease.

"Yes Mal I'll be fine. My relationship with Jayne doesn't mean I loved Wash any less. He wouldn't want me being alone for the rest of my life." Zoe explained.

The two brown coats stared at each other for a few seconds, neither of them used to talking about emotional issues with each other.

"Ok well glad it won't be a problem." Mal said breaking the silence. "So you think you and Jayne'll ever have one a these?" Mal asked nodding down at the baby in his arms.

Zoe snorted with laughter at the suggestion. "You really think Jayne should be reproducing Sir?"

"Hey you're the one ruttin him." Mal teased.

"Doesn't mean I'm gonna be creating a whole new human being with him." She replied.

"Does he make ya happy?" Mal asked realizing he'd never really thought about why Zoe and Jayne were together.

Zoe looked at Mal with surprise. He'd never asked about her relationships before. During their entire friendship the only time she could remember him ever even speaking about a man in her life was the day he had ordered her not to marry Wash, and on that day he'd been firmly told where to stick his orders when it came to her personal life. She figured it had to be the new babies making him more open to emotional discussions. Not that she was entirely ready for that herself.

"Does Jayne make me happy?" She asked. "Yeah he does. Not in the same way Wash made me happy, but yes he does." She answered.

Mal nodded and gave her a brief smile. "Good. I'm glad for ya." He replied.

"You need me to set a course for Haven?" Zoe asked, breaking whatever weird spell they'd fallen into to let them speak so openly.

"Already done. We should be there by tomorrow night. Then we gotta see bout getting us a job." Mal answered.

Zoe nodded and handed the baby back to him. "I'll go check with some of our contacts and see if I can find us a job of some sort."

"Thanks Zo, for everything." Mal said sincerely.

Zoe nodded and headed towards the door. She turned back to him from the doorway and said, "They're beautiful Sir. You did a good job."

"Thanks Zo."

Mal looked down to find that both of the girls had fallen back to sleep. He stood up from the couch slowly so he wouldn't wake them and walked to the bunk in the passenger dorm he and River were now using.

River was fast asleep when he walked in. She was curled into a ball with her hair fanned across the pillow. Mal felt his breath catch in his throat a little at how beautiful she was. He couldn't believe it had been less than a day since she'd given birth, she looked so radiant. He guessed it was partially due to the super genes she had, but he figured he'd always think she looked radiant.

They didn't have cribs or bassinets yet, Mal had thought they had another month to buy those things. He and River had decided to keep the girls in their bed until they could land long enough to buy baby things.

Moving carefully he laid the babies next to River and then put a pillow on the other side of them so they couldn't some how roll into the wall.

Mal stared down at his wife and daughters and couldn't believe how lucky he was. He had thought his entire life that marrying and having a family wasn't something he'd ever want. He had always imagined that doing it would mean tying himself down to a responsibility he couldn't escape. After the war Mal had promised himself that he would always be free, that no one and nothing was ever going to chain him down.

But now he realized how wrong he had been. His family was the best thing that had ever happened to him. River would never try to chain him down, she more than anyone knew the value of freedom and it was a lesson he knew they would teach to their children.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

"I didn't really know Rex. Only met him a couple a times. But even only meetin him the few times I did I know he was a good man. He took something terrible that happened to him and used it to find the courage to stop it from happenin to others. He was a brave man and we was all lucky ta have found him."

Mal cleared his throat and stepped away from Rex's grave. They didn't have a capture of him to use as a marker. But River had used one of Kaylee's laser cutters to inscribe his name onto a slab of rock they had found and polished. Under his name she'd written the Chinese symbol for 'freedom'.

Simon stepped forward after Mal and stared down at the gravestone. "Um I just wanted to say how grateful I am to Rex. He saved my life and he saved my sister's life twice. Rex I'll never forget you and I'll always be grateful for what you did for me." He finished and stepped back and pulled Kaylee into his arms.

River handed the oldest of her girls to Mal and stepped forward to Rex's marker. She sank to her knees and placed both hands on his name. She never said anything out loud, but she sat like that for nearly ten minutes with her eyes closed. Mal thought back to the way she had done the same thing at Inara's grave. He wondered what it was she thought about during her silence, but he knew he'd never ask her. Whatever it was that she was thinking was obviously meant for the deceased and no one else.

_Who knows?_ He thought. _The way her brain works, maybe she's actually communicating with the dead._

Once she was finished she stood and took one of the babies back from Mal. After paying their respects to Rex the crew moved as a group to the graves of their lost family. Zoe placed a hand on Wash's grave and smiled down lovingly even as she held Jayne's hand. Mal was amazed she could be so clear and unconfused about her current relationship with Jayne and how it compared to the one she'd had with her husband.

An hour later the crew had all returned to the ship, all except for Mal. He stood over the graves of the four men who'd each died because of the Alliance. All of them had been taken before their time and all because they had each stood up for what they believed in.

Mal glanced in the direction of the wilderness beyond the graves of his friends. They had buried Reagan twenty miles away in a small valley. They hadn't marked the site and both Simon and River had declined to go to the grave or say any words about the woman who had pretended to be there mother.

"I don't communicate with the dead ai-ren." River said suddenly from behind him.

Mal jumped about a foot in the air and let out a completely unmanly shriek as he spun to face his wife.

"Wuh de ma! Woman ya scared the go-se outta me!" He yelled.

River stood before him holding both babies and giggling hysterically at her husband's reaction.

"I just wanted to clarify that I do not have the ability to speak with the dead. I heard you thinking that earlier."

"Thought you took the girl's back ta the ship." Mal replied hoping to avoid any mention of his girly shriek.

"We were on our way back but then I realized it was time." She replied.

"Time fer what?" He asked.

"To name the girls. Today is the day." She explained.

"Today huh? Why today?" He asked.

"Just is. You name one and I name one." She replied and handed the younger of the two to her husband.

"Wait when you said we was waiting for the right time to name them I figured that meant you was gonna name em. I ain't even thought about any names." Mal protested.

"Don't worry. Her name will come to you when you're ready." She said certainly.

River turned to look at the now setting sun that spread a brilliant wash of orange light over the hills and prairie that lay before them. Mal had to admit that if River wanted a special place to name their children she'd certainly picked a good one.

"I'm finished." River said quickly.

"Zhen ta ma jue! You're done already? You already had a name picked out didn't ya?" Mal accused.

"No…" River drawled suspiciously.

"Ya know for someone who can be so sneaky and a genius you can't like ta save yer life."

"Alright yes I already had the name picked out." River admitted.

"That ain't fair now all the pressures on me. So what did ya name her?" Mal asked.

"Annabelle Marie Reynolds." River supplied.

"Annabelle was my ma's name." Mal said sounding shocked.

"Yes it was."

"You sure ya wanna name our girl after my ma? You never even met her." Mal asked.

"Doesn't matter if I never met her. You loved her very much and she raised an incredible man. I can't think of a more befitting name for our daughter."

Mal pulled his wife close and kissed the top of her head. "Thank you River, this is well it means a lot to me."

"Your turn." River said after a moment.

He stared out into the twilight and tried to think of a name for the little girl in his arms. It seemed like such a big responsibility, it was the name she would carry forever. Then it hit him like a bolt of lightning, he knew exactly what her name should be.

"Haven." He whispered. River looked up at him and smiled brightly.

"Haven Reynolds. What'da ya think?" He asked his wife.

"Perfect ai-ren, just perfect. But she still needs a middle name." River pointed out.

"Well um what about Zoe? Haven Zoe Reynolds. If ya don't like it we don't have to…"

"Mal I think naming her after Zoe is wonderful. She has been a loyal friend to you for a long time and she's done much for our family." River assured him.

"Haven and Annabelle. You think they'll like them names? They ain't exactly ordinary." Mal said.

"Good. Our girls are not ordinary and their names should represent that. And someday if they are upset about their nontraditional names, we can simply point out that they have an uncle named Jayne. That should make them feel better."

Mal laughed loudly and hugged River tighter. It was then that something occurred to him.

"So when you say our girls ain't ordinary, does that mean they're gonna be super smart like you and Simon?" He asked.

"Yes I believe they will inherit my intellect and I think…" River stopped talking and looked off into the distance.

"You think they're gonna be readers too don't you?" He asked.

River nodded and looked at her husband fearfully.

"But they ain't ever gonna have their brains cut on." Mal argued.

"I don't believe it was the surgery that gave Simon and I our abilities. I think the operations merely made it impossible to turn it off." She explained. "Are you angry ai-ren? If I could have prevented it I wouldn't have passed this burden to them."

"River I know it ain't yer fault. I hope you don't think I'd ever be mad at ya for somethin like that. Plus it ain't like yer readin is all bad. It's saved our lives plenty a times. If our girls have it mayhaps it'll save their lives someday."

River gave him a loving look and then turned so that she was again looking out at the setting sun.

"See girls that there's yer first sunset." Mal said to the babies. He looked down to see that both of them were fast asleep.

"Well maybe they'll be awake on the next planet." He murmured as the family turned to head back to the ship.

"You know Zoe is going to beat the go-se out of you for naming Haven's middle name after her." River pointed out.

"Yeah I know, but after the beating I think she'll be touched." He said as they walked onto Serenity.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Later that night Mal stretched out on his bed, feeling better now that they were back out in the Black. Although with the extreme lack of jobs how long they could stay in the Black was uncertain.

"You're worried about money. No jobs and no contacts willing to work with us since Badger was killed." River said as she sat on the edge of the bed and fed Annabelle.

"Ain't nothin you need ta concern yourself with." Mal replied abruptly.

"If you worry, I worry." She replied. "But I may have a solution to our financial burden. One that will guarantee every person on this ship need never worry about finances again nor their children or grandchildren."

Mal whistled and gave his wife a look of utter disbelief. "And just what is this scheme to that'll make us all so rich? Cause I'm thinking anything bringing in this much cash is gonna be dangerous."

"Well there will be some danger, but no more than many of our jobs that have been far less lucrative. But it will be illegal and will include cheating the system to work."

"Those are two things I ain't exactly opposed to." He replied

"Alright ya got me curious. Just what is this grand idea ya got brewin in that big'ol brain a yours?" He asked.

"I believe we should play the lottery." She answered simply.

"Well baby doll I think a good many people have had that same idea, pretty sure it never panned out for most of em. From what I understand the odds a winnin are pretty damn slim."

"What if I could guarantee we would win?" She asked.

"Are you tellin me you can read the lottery numbers? Cause if you can pick lottery number that's really a skill ya should let me in on a long time ago."

River laughed and shook her head. "No can't read the numbers they are picked by a computer and I can't read machines. But I can manipulate them, if we could get into the main lottery offices I could rig the computer to pick the numbers we picked before hand. Thus guaranteeing our win." She finished.

"You really think you could pull that off?" He asked.

"Well I can't do it by myself. I think this is a job that will take everyone's skills, although I'm hoping it can be done without need of Simon's surgeon skills, but with you being there that isn't likely." She teased.

"Seriously why does everyone think I get shot all the time? Cause I don't!" He pouted.

"I could give you the statistics of injuries on board for each crew member but trust me you won't like them."

"Ha ha ha. Suddenly my wife is a gorram comedian!" He said sarcastically. "So you can rig the computer to pick the numbers we want it to pick?" He asked trying to change the subject.

"Well I'm sure that the computer uses some sort of rotating algorithm to continuously change the numbers up until the time they are drawn in order to prevent human tampering. So logically all one would have to do is input the correct sequence of numbers for the algorithm and take into account the…"

"Bao-bei" Mal interrupted. "You lost me after the word 'computer'. Yer telling me ya gotta do some fancy math stuff to get the computer to pick the numbers we want?" Mal asked.

"Exactly." She replied with a smile.

"So bao-bei any suggestions of where I should set a course for? Lotsa planets and moons got lotteries, you got one in particular in mind?" Mal asked.

"Bernadette. Big enough that we can remain fairly anonymous, but small enough that the security won't be completely unbreakable." She said.

"Sounds like a plan. I hope you're right about this whole lottery thing. If'n we get there and this doesn't pan out, might be awhile fore we have enough cash to get back into the Black." He worried.

"I'll do my very best to bring us a positive outcome. I am nearly certain that it will work." She told him hoping to ease his worry somewhat.

River finished feeding Annabelle and handed her to Mal so that he could burp her while she took Haven and began to feed her.

Later that night Simon walked into the cargo bay to find River walking back and forth with both babies in her arms, bouncing them a little as they cried.

"Hey mei-mei you need a hand?" He asked seeing the frustrated look on her face.

"Yes please Simon. Having two of these is much more difficult than I ever imagined. I was just trying to calm them down by teaching them about Einstein and his theory of relativity. Not only did it create the atomic bomb, but also made interstellar travel possible." River explained to Haven.

"You know they're only a week old right?" Simon pointed out.

River gave him an annoyed look and raised an eyebrow in his direction.

"Hey even you wouldn't have understood Einstein when you were a week old." He argued.

"That's what you think." She said.

Simon was pretty sure she was joking, at least he hoped she was.

"So how come you have both girls? Where's Mal?" Simon asked as he took Annabelle from River's arms.

"He has been up with them every night since they were born so that I could recover. I ordered him to sleep tonight, but now I'm beginning to regret the decision. They have both been crying for an hour and I don't know why. I've done everything I can think of to help but they are still upset." River explained as Haven cried even harder.

"Well how about we take them down to the infirmary and I check them out? Just to make sure nothings wrong." Simon asked.

River gave him a look of fear but nodded and followed him to the infirmary. She kept herself distracted, while Simon examined Annabelle, by telling Haven all about Nikola Tesla and his conception of the rotating magnetic field principle.

"Did you find anything Simon?" She asked anxiously a few minutes later.

"Yes, both of the girls have colic. It's not serious but it is going to make them fussy and uncomfortable until it's over." Simon explained.

"So there's nothing I can do?" River asked sounding distraught.

Simon thought for a moment and then suddenly smiled at his sister. "Come with me I have an idea." He told her and carried Annabelle from the room.

River followed him and was surprised when Simon led her to the engine room. He handed Annabelle to River and then busied himself with Kaylee's hammock and a few blankets. After a few minutes he turned around and smiled proudly to River.

"Voila!" He exclaimed. "Well try it out." He ordered as he indicated the small cradle he had rigged up in the hammock.

River gave him a questioning look but obliged and put both babies into the blanket. It was less than a minute later when both babies calmed down and dropped off to sleep. River turned to Simon with a huge smile on her face.

"Simon that was amazing! How did you do that?" She asked happily.

"I just remembered that Father did this when you were a baby. Of course not with an engine room, but he'd set your baby seat on top of the washing machine. I guess its something about the vibration that helps babies with colic." He explained.

"You really are a genius big brother." She said gratefully and wrapped her brother in a tight hug.

"I'm just glad I could help my nieces feel better." He replied modestly.

River slumped down gratefully to the floor and sighed with relief. Simon sat down beside her and they spent the next few minutes in silence staring up at the sleeping girls.

"Simon do you think we should tell Father about Reagan?" She asked suddenly.

Simon sighed and looked down at the floor, he'd also been wondering if they should find a way to tell Gabriel about the death of his wife.

"I don't know River. I don't think it's a good idea."

"Reagan told me at the Academy that father didn't know anything about what she was doing." River replied.

"Yes but we can't trust anything she said and even if he knew nothing about it, it still doesn't change the fact that he disowned me and wouldn't help you." He pointed out.

"I know. But his wife is gone and he has no idea where she is or what happened to her." She protested.

"River I've thought of all these things too, but it just isn't safe. The Alliance is no doubt watching him closely. Contacting him would just put all of us in danger."

River sighed sadly and put her head on Simon's shoulder. He moved over so that he could put his arm around her and pulled her closer.

"You're right Simon. I just feel badly for him. If something happened to Mal and I didn't know, it would be terrible."

"I know, but we have our family here to worry about and they've done more for us than Reagan and Gabriel Tam ever did."

River sighed again, but didn't say anything else.

"Ok mei-mei spill it." Simon said after a few minutes.

"Spill what? Whatever it is that's bothering you so much. Remember I'm a reader now, I can tell something is on your mind and I'm trying really hard to not just read your thoughts and find out what it is." He answered.

"I keep thinking about our biological parents." She revealed.

Simon looked at her in surprise. "You mean the people who allowed the government to take their DNA and let them use it to create two children to be human Guinea pigs?"

"That may not have been what happened. Maybe they didn't know what was happening or maybe they just weren't given a choice. We weren't given a choice about what they did to us." She argued.

"Maybe." Simon agreed noncommittally.

"You aren't curious about them at all? Don't you want to know who they are or were? I mean what if we don't even have the same parents? Maybe we have separate mothers or fathers." She pointed out.

"We don't. I did our gene sequencing a year ago remember? Trust me whoever our biological parents were, we have the same ones. And no I'm not curious about them. Because I don't let myself be. Finding them would be dangerous and unbelievably stupid. Plus it doesn't matter anyway. To find them we would need money, a lot of it. And right now an over abundance of funds is definitely not one of our problems."

"Money shouldn't be a problem for much longer." River said teasingly.

"I know that tone of voice mei-mei. What are you planning? Because I know you are up to something." Simon asked.

"I'll tell you tomorrow. I promise." River replied with a yawn.

Simon shook his head but didn't bother to press River to tell him. He knew his sister well enough to know she wouldn't say anything until she wanted to. When Simon again looked down at River she was fast asleep against his shoulder. He sighed and leaned back against the engine, deciding to let River sleep for awhile.

An hour later Kaylee walked into the engine room and jumped in surprise to find her husband and sister in law leaning against her engine, both of them fast asleep. She was also surprised to find both of her nieces sleeping soundly in her hammock. Simon sensed Kaylee's presence, woke up, and smiled sheepishly up at his wife.

"Hey." He yawned.

"Hey yerself. So what are ya'll doin sleepin on the floor in the engine room?" Kaylee asked with a grin.

"The girls have colic and I thought the vibration of the engine room would help them sleep. Then River fell asleep and she was so tired I didn't want to wake her, then I guess I fell asleep too." Simon explained.

"I can watch the girls if you want to take River to her room." Kaylee offered.

Simon smiled gratefully up at his wife and then carefully picked up his sister and walked from the room. River woke up halfway to her bunk and looked around in confusion.

"Where are…" She began.

"Don't worry Kaylee is watching the girls. You're going to bed to get some rest." Simon ordered.

River nodded and leaned her head back against her brother's shoulder. "You know Simon you're going to be a wonderful father someday."

"Thanks mei-mei." He whispered and walked into her and Mal's bunk. Mal was spread out over the bed snoring loudly. The siblings looked at each other and exchanged a smile. Simon set River on her feet and kissed the top of her head before he crept quietly from the room.

Early the next morning Mal called the entire crew to the galley before breakfast.

"Mal why in the ruttin hell are we up at the ass crack a dawn?" Jayne asked grumpily.

"Its space Jayne there ain't any dawn out here." Mal reminded.

"Ya know what I mean." He grumbled and poured himself a cup of coffee.

"Well I got a good reason for gettin ya'll up here so early. My brilliant genius of a wife has come up with a plan ta make us all a boat load a cash." Mal revealed happily.

"When you say a boat load how much are we talkin?" Jayne asked much more awake now that money had been mentioned.

"I'm talkin enough money to fill this entire boat." Mal answered.

"Just how are we going to get all this money Sir?" Zoe asked.

"We are gonna play the lottery." He replied simply.

The silence that met his pronouncement showed just what the crew thought of River's plan.

"Um Sir no offense but that plan is really stupid." Zoe said bluntly.

"Just how in the hell are we gonna win the lottery? The chances a that happenin is less than the chances of you going a year without gettin' shot!" Jayne blurted.

Simon snorted in laughter and choked on his coffee at Jayne's joke.

"Sorry Mal but he does have a point." Simon said after he finished coughing.

"Ya'll think I'm stupid?" Mal asked. "Wait don't answer that and just let me tell ya the rest of it. We're gonna win the lottery the same way we won all that money on Draco." He explained.

"We are gonna use River and Simon's super brains ta cheat our pi-gu's off."


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Mal busied himself in the cargo bay, cleaning and sorting things that really didn't need to be cleaned or sorted. He just needed someway to keep his mind off of his wife's latest crazy scheme.

Serenity had touched down on Bernadette two days ago and the entire crew had been busy planning the break in of the lottery offices. River had managed to not only find out on which floors of the building the computers were kept, but she'd also managed to find floor plans and the schedule of guard shifts. With the information she'd gathered it seemed likely that they would be able to get in and out without difficulty.

_At least that's the plan._ Mal thought wryly. More often than not it seemed like the simple plans were the ones that usually went the worst.

"Are we all set to go?" Simon asked as he walked into the cargo bay.

Mal smiled a little when he turned around and saw how Simon was dressed. In the last few years Simon had become much more relaxed, including the way he dressed, he no longer wore the uptight clothes of a Core world doctor. For the job however he was going to have to play the part of an upscale citizen. He had entered the cargo bay dressed in the most proper and expensive of the clothes he had brought with him.

"Ya know Jayne's gonna die a laughter when he see's ya dressed in them duds." Mal commented.

"Yeah I know. It's weird I used to wear clothes like this everyday, now it feels like a costume or something." Simon commented.

From above them on the catwalk Mal and Simon heard a snort of laughter. They looked up to find Jayne red faced and struggling to breath through his laughter.

"Damn Doc I fergot whatta pansy ass ya used ta be!" He managed to gasp out.

"Thanks Jayne." Simon muttered and tugged uncomfortably at his shirt collar.

Mal was distracted from Jayne and Simon when Haven began to cry. Both girls had been sleeping peacefully in their bassinet while Mal worked. Annabelle quickly followed her younger sister's example and began to scream as well.

"Hey girlies ya'll can't be fussin like this while yer ma's gone. Daddy can't handle ya both alone if'n ya scream the whole time." Mal warned as he leaned over to pick up Haven. Simon helped him by picking up Annabelle.

"Now little bit what's all this about?" Mal asked.

"Maybe they're hungry." Simon suggested as he bounced Annabelle.

"River just fed em twenty minutes ago. I kinda thought they'd sleep till ya'll got back." Mal replied.

"Well maybe River can get them to settle down before we leave. Where is she anyway?" Simon asked talking loudly to be heard over the shrieking twins.

"Her and Kaylee are still gettin ready."

Mal sighed with relief when Haven stopped crying a few minutes later and fell back to sleep. Annabelle also quieted down and began to coo up at her Uncle Simon.

"Simon are you ready?" Kaylee called from the top of the stairs. Mal and Simon turned to their wives and both of their jaws dropped in identical expressions of appreciation and lust.

"River you look…" Mal began but couldn't quite find a word for what his wife looked like.

River and Kaylee had both dressed in outfits which would fit in with the business dress of the office building they were headed to. But they both managed to make the outfits look damn sexy. River wore a short black skirt with a tight clinging top. Kaylee wore a dress that was so low cut Mal felt himself blushing just from one quick glance.

"Kaylee." Simon squeaked. "Wow." Was all he finally managed to get out.

"Jayne? Jayne… JAYNE!" Mal shouted.

"Huh? What?" He asked after a few seconds.

"Ya mind not lookin at my wife like that? Cause if ya don't stop I'm gonna have ta shoot you." Mal warned.

Jayne shook his head and looked over at Mal with an embarrassed blush on his face.

"So ya'll think we'll be able ta flirt our way inta the office?" Kaylee asked as she and River walked over to them men.

"Unless the guy is blind or sly I don't think you'll have a problem." Jayne grunted.

"Girls you behave for your father and Uncle Jayne." River warned and kissed each baby lightly on the cheek.

"Wait whattda ya mean Uncle Jayne? I ain't babysitting." Jayne protested.

"Zoe has to be prepared to take off if things end badly. Don't worry you'll be fine." River assured him. She took Annabelle from Simon's arms and placed the now sleeping baby in Jayne's arms. It was the first time he'd held either of the twins.

"Hey I don't wanna hold her." Jayne protested.

"You'll be fine Uncle Jayne. I promise." River giggled.

"Keep the comm unit on. Anything goes wrong you call us quick like dong-ma?" Mal ordered.

"I promise ai-ren." River answered and gave her husband a goodbye kiss before following Simon and Kaylee out of Serenity.

The three walked from the ship yard where Serenity was docked to the bustling shopping district in only a few minutes.

"So are you girls ready for this?" Simon asked.

"Shouldn't be too hard. We just flirt enough to get the guard to let us on the elevator and you sneak on while he's all distracted. River you said the place'll be busy right?" Kaylee asked.

"The lottery offices are on the third and fourth floors, but the building contains over forty floors of various businesses. The lunch hour has just ended so employees will be returning to work. The lobby should be full." River assured.

They arrived at the office building a few minutes later and were about to walk in when River stopped them.

"We have a problem."

"What? Its busy just like ya said it would be." Kaylee replied sounding confused.

"The guard at the desk. Simon did you read him?" River asked.

"No I-" Simon began and then stopped when he did read the guard. "No, no, no. Absolutely not. River I'm not doing that. We'll have to think of a new plan." He protested.

"What? What?" Kaylee asked sounding frustrated. Simon didn't answer and instead continued to stare at River and shake his head in protest.

"Would one of you please tell me what the problem is? I ain't a mind reader ya know." Kaylee finally yelled.

River giggled a little and then turned to Kaylee.

"Our plan has a flaw. The guard at the desk, well, lets just say he isn't going to be interested in you or I." River explained.

"Wait a minute are ya sayin the guard at the desk is sly?" Kaylee asked with a giggle.

River nodded and both women turned to look at Simon, doing their best to stifle their laughter.

"I'm sorry Simon but you'll have to play my part and I'll have to take yours. It's the only way this will work." River said not sounding like she was the least bit sorry.

Simon buried his head in his hands for a second and then sighed deeply. "Fine, I'll do it, but we had better win the money. If I do this and the plan doesn't work I'm never going to let you forget about it." He muttered as he walked into the building followed by Kaylee and River.

The girls quickly made their way to the information kiosk near the elevator, they stood there pretending to read the various signs as Simon made his way to the information desk.

Halfway to the desk Simon realized that the name River had slipped into the computer system was for a woman and not a man. Seeing the guard look up and smile Simon realized it was too late to turn around and consider a new tactic.

"Hi can I help you?" The guard asked giving Simon an appreciative once over.

"Umm… Yes I have a, a job interview today. With Vi-tech industries." Simon stuttered.

"Vi-tech huh? You a scientist?" The guard asked.

"I'm looking for the lab assistant job actually." Simon replied hoping he sounded sincere, he was aware that lying was not one of his strong suits.

The guard nodded and turned to his computer to type something in. His brow furrowed in confusion a few moments later and he glanced up at Simon again.

"Says here the only interview they're expecting all day is for a Miss Jessica James. You don't look like a Miss." The guard explained.

"It's Jesse James. They must have put it into the computer incorrectly." Simon blurted and then realized he'd just given the guard the name of an Earth-that-was outlaw. He prayed silently that the guard wasn't familiar with Earth-that-was Old West history.

"Damn Human Resources. Swear to God I'm cleaning up their mess half a dozen times a day." The guard confided in Simon as he worked to change the information in the computer.

"That sucks. Shouldn't be your job to fix other people's mistakes." Simon replied sympathetically.

"Alright got that all straightened up. Now I just need yer ident card and then I can get you a visitor's pass." The guard said after a few more seconds.

"Umm my ident card? I have a little problem with that. I lost my wallet a few days ago and my card was in it. I applied for a new one but I won't have it for another few days." Simon explained.

"Do ya have any sort of identification?" The guard asked.

"No everything was in the wallet." Simon answered and gave the guard what he hoped was a pathetic sad look.

"I can't be letting you up stairs without some sort of id." The guard replied.

"Isn't there anyway you could help me out? I really need this job and if I get the job I'll have id the next time I come, I promise. You can check it then." Simon said and smiled at the guard.

The guard looked uncertainly at Simon before saying, "I really can't just let you up there. I mean I could lose my job over this."

Simon shifted uncomfortably and realized he needed to really flirt if this was going to work. Giving an angry glance back towards his sister and his wife he turned and leaned onto the information desk so that he was much closer to the guard now. He glanced up and gave the guard a slow easy smile, one he usually reserved for Kaylee.

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have asked you to break the rules, I wouldn't want to endanger your job. I'm just a little desperate. I just moved here and still haven't gotten a job and I don't really know anyone and now I've lost my wallet and I can't get a job without identification. It's just been a bad few weeks. But I do appreciate you being so kind about the whole thing." He whispered and gave the guard a coy look.

The guard behind the desk swallowed thickly and stared at Simon for a few seconds before finding his composure. "Ah hell I guess I can let ya up there. I mean I don't want you missing your interview."

"Thank you so much, really you're an amazing man." Simon gushed.

The guard smiled and gave him a visitor's pass to clip to his shirt.

Simon returned the smile and walked away from the desk. He only made it five feet or so before the guard called his name.

"Mr. James wait!"

Simon groaned and then turned back to the guard with a smile on his face.

"Is there a problem?" He asked.

"No. No problem. I was just thinking since your new in town maybe you'd want to get together for a drink and I could show you around a bit." The guard replied nervously.

"Wow that's really nice. I'd love to."

The guard handed Simon a folded piece of paper. "I'm Ryan. Here's my number. Wave me tonight if you want to get together." He instructed and gave Simon a flirtatious smile.

Simon nodded and tried to return the look. "I will Ryan. Thanks again." He promised, feeling guilty about using the nice man like that.

Walking quickly to the elevator Simon held his visitor's pass under the scanner and sighed with relief when the elevator dinged and opened up. He stepped in quickly and then pushed the door open button to keep the elevator from moving. Within just a few second both women slipped unnoticed into the elevator with him. Once the doors closed and they were alone Simon let out a huge breath and leaned against the wall.

"Ya did great ai-ren!" Kaylee complimented and gave Simon a kiss.

"Yeah thanks." He muttered.

"What's that?" Kaylee asked after spying the slip of paper still clutched in his hand.

"Ryan's number. I got a date tonight." He answered with a small smile.

"Very impressive you flirted well enough to get a date. So where are the two of you going?" River asked with a teasing grin.

"Shut up mei-mei."

The elevator dinged then and they moved out of the elevator before the teasing could continue.

"Everyone ready?" Simon whispered as they headed down the hall.

Kaylee and River both smiled and nodded. Luckily the floor that housed the computers didn't hold their main business offices. There was very little in the way of personnel on the fourth floor, but security was another matter. They had only walked a few feet down the hall before a guard ordered them to stop.

River turned and gave the guard a smile.

"Can I help ya'll with something?" The guard asked as he approached the three.

River took a step closer and again gave the guard a flirty smile.

"I wish to purchase a lottery ticket." She explained.

"Well that'd be one floor down if you want one. Although ya know you can buy em all over the place right? All the stores round here sell em ya don't actually gotta come to the office. Now how's bout I show ya where ya need ta be?" The guard said and gave River a dopey smile.

River slid a bit closer and put one hand on the guard's arm. "That would be very helpful." She replied sweetly.

The guard turned toward the elevator and before he could react River pulled out a small vial. She pressed the vial to the man's neck and a small needle popped from the end of the vial. Simon hurried to step forward and catch the guard as he slumped to the ground, now completely unconscious. Moving quicker than he thought he could Simon pulled the incapacitated guard into the store room they had found close to the elevators.

"Well that was easy. That stuff sure worked good. You sure he'll be ok?" Kaylee asked as they left the guard tied up and asleep.

"He should wake up in an hour or so. He'll have a headache, but other than that he'll be fine." Simon assured his kind hearted wife.

"According to the blue prints the computers should be straight down this hall." River explained as they moved further into the building. They met two other guards on the way to the computers. Simon and River were able to dispatch them in the same way they had taken care of the first one. They slipped quietly into the room containing the computers and were relieved to find that the room was empty.

Simon and Kaylee stood near the doors to keep watch while River began to type furiously at one of the computer terminals.

After ten minutes Simon began to get anxious. "River you about done? We need to get out of here." He whispered urgently.

River continued to work and didn't reply. He waited another three minutes before asking again.

"River? River we need to get out of here! Can you do this or not?" He asked.

River gave him an annoyed glance and then went straight back to her work. "I'm going as fast as I can Simon. The computer system is run on a rotating grid of six separate algorithms. I have to break through each one before I can move onto the next. It's time consuming." She explained all the while typing numbers into the computer.

A split second later four guards walked by the computer room the three were hiding in. Kaylee and Simon both crouched to the ground and hid behind computer terminals. River continued to type but did duck her head out of view.

All three let out a simultaneous breath of relief when the guards continued on their way without noticing the interlopers.

"Alright River we really really need to get out of here." Simon whispered harshly his last nerve having been stretched much too far.

"I'm nearly finished. I just need to input the numbers we selected and then erase any traces of my actions." River replied distractedly.

"Just make sure ya put all the numbers in right." Kaylee reminded her for probably the hundredth time that day.

River didn't bother to answer and simply continued to erase any signs of her tampering in the computer system.

"I'm done." She whispered a moment later to Simon's relief.

Simon and River both grew quiet as they searched with their minds for the whereabouts of the guards on the floor. Thirty seconds later they both nodded and moved through the door without a word. Kaylee knew enough to not doubt there abilities and followed them quietly.

To all three of their surprise they made it to the door without so much as a glimpse of another person. Once they were all safely in the elevator they exchanged a smile.

"Is it just me or was that way too easy? How come there weren't more security?" Kaylee asked.

"Because the officials believe that no one can break into their computer system. They don't have to pay the computer for its security features and they don't want to waste the money paying men to guard something that they believe can protect itself." River explained.

"And we haven't gotten away yet." Simon pointed out. The elevator dinged then and all three of them entered the lobby cautiously.

Business was going as usual and it seemed that no one was the wiser about what had just taken place.

Kaylee and River walked together towards the door, laughing and talking the whole way. Simon waited a minute before following them towards the exit.

"That was a fast interview." Ryan the guard said just as Simon was about to walk out the door.

Trying not to look nervous Simon turned and gave him a smile.

"Yes um it was very fast." He agreed nervously.

"You get the job?" Ryan asked.

"I don't know yet." Simon replied.

"Well hope ya get it. Then we'd be seein each other everyday." Ryan said. "So I'll see you tonight?" He asked.

"Um yes tonight. Well I don't know if I can tonight, but I'll try." Simon answered noncommittally.

Ryan sat back down at his desk. "Alright, well I'll see you around then." He replied looking slightly put out.

Simon gave him a nod and quickly slipped out the door. He found the girls waiting on the street corner for him.

"Everything shiny?" Kaylee asked.

"Seems to be. I feel bad about that guy though. I think I hurt his feelings." Simon answered.

"Well ai-ren if ya wanna go out with him tonight and let him down gently I won't be upset." Kaylee teased.

River giggled and Simon gave them both a murderous glare.

"Maybe I will. Bet he wouldn't give me this much crap." He replied.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Because the drawing wasn't for another two days Mal had River move Serenity out of the ship yard and to the country side. This way they wouldn't be in town if anyone became wise to their plan and they wouldn't have to pay docking fees for another two days.

It was a tedious and long two days. They had no job to work on and even the cleaning duties Mal had handed out had been long done. Luckily the crew was accustomed to long periods of idle time and they knew how to keep themselves entertained. For Zoe and Jayne this meant spending almost the entire two days locked in Jayne's bunk, Simon and Kaylee also spent large amounts of time locked away together. River and Mal spent the time with their baby girls and trying to catch up on much needed sleep.

"River who is Ryan?" Mal asked as he walked into their bunk.

River looked up in surprise from the bed where she was feeding Haven.

"Ryan was the security guard at the building where the lottery offices were held." She replied.

"He gave ya his number?" Mal asked sounding slightly jealous and holding out the scrap of paper with the guard's Cortex number written on it.

"No he didn't give me his number." She explained and tried in vain to hide her smile.

"What?" Mal asked instantly noticing the smile on her face.

"No it's nothing." River said trying to avoid telling Mal who the number actually belonged to.

"Come one I ain't the reader you are but I can tell there's something you ain't tellin me. What did Kaylee get his number and don't want Simon ta know or somethin?" Mal asked.

"No the number isn't Kaylee's either."

"So if the guard didn't give you his number and he didn't give Kaylee his number then he musta given it to…" Mal trailed off and then a wide grin broke out on his face.

"Are ya tellin me that the guard gave his number to Simon?" Mal asked gleefully.

River couldn't contain her smile this time and nodded. "Yes. It turned out the guard wasn't at all interested in Kaylee or I, but he did seem to fancy Simon quite a lot."

Mal threw his head back and laughed until his face turned red and tears rolled down his face.

"Oh I can't believe Simon got a date and no one told me. How's Kaylee? She jealous?" He asked between his bursts of laughter.

"No in fact she told Simon if he wished to keep the date she wouldn't mind. Simon however thought it was a bad idea." River said with a giggle.

"You nervous about the drawing this evening?" Mal asked as he lay down on the bed beside his wife and daughters.

"Not about winning. I'm certain we will do that, but I worry about what will happen after we claim the prize." She answered.

"Why's that?"

"It is a multi-million dollar prize ai-ren. When someone wins it will cause quite a commotion. What if a capture is taken of me or Simon or you or Serenity? If the Alliance saw any of us they would have a big clue as to our whereabouts. I won't let any of us go back to the Academy, not ever." River said her voice quivering slightly.

Mal propped himself up on his arm so that he could look straight into River's eyes.

"That ain't gonna happen bao-bei. We been through too much and worked too hard for the life we got now. Ain't no one taken that away from us. Kaylee's gonna claim the prize and Jayne's gonna go with her. Kaylee ain't wanted for anything and Jayne, well hopefully he ain't wanted here. We're gonna be careful with this." Mal assured her.

River nodded and gave Mal a smile. "I know ai-ren. It's just now that we have the girls I'm so scared of the Alliance finding them." River confided and looked down at the two sleeping girls.

Mal stared down at his tiny daughters and felt the same fear his wife felt. Losing his family to the Alliance was the one thing Malcolm Reynolds feared above all else. The very thought of some hun-dan scientist hurting his children the way they had hurt his wife was almost unbearable.

"I know bao-bei. But I promise you the Academy is never ever gonna lay their hands on our girls. We're gonna win this money and use it ta stay as far from the Alliance's hands as we possibly can. These girls are gonna have everything money can buy."

"I had everything money could buy and it never helped me much." River pointed out sadly.

"Yeah but the difference is these girls are also gonna have two parents who love em and would die to protect em. I think those are two things you and yer brother never had." Mal comforted.

River sniffled and one tear rolled down her cheek. Mal used his thumb to wipe the tear away and then pulled River down and gave her a comforting kiss.

"I promise you our little ones are gonna grow up having the kinda life we never had. They're gonna have all the love I got when I was a kid and all the advantages you got. Put together I'd say these are some damn lucky little girls."

River gave Mal a smile and nodded. She tried to believe what Mal was saying but she knew the Academy was still out there and as long as they were they would always hunt her and her family. She hoped that the money would help them remain safely away from the Academy and maybe someday help her to stop the Academy all together.

The crew hung out together in the galley all evening after dinner. They had the local news brought up on the Cortex and everyone eagerly awaited the announcement of the lottery numbers.

"Hey it's on!" Kaylee shouted to the men who had been at the table playing cards.

The crew grew silent while the seven numbers were read off. Even the babies who had been fussing grew quite while they waited for all the numbers to be read out.

"Tonight's Superball numbers are… 2-30-9-28-17 and 54." The lottery announcer shouted excitedly.

The crew all let out a collective breath and sat in silence. No one moved or said a word after the announcement of the numbers.

"So that's it then huh?" Jayne finally muttered.

"Yep that's it." Mal agreed.

"You'd think winning millions of dollars would be more exciting." Simon complained.

"What ya ain't excited now that ya got money ta take yer boyfriend out on a date?" Mal teased.

"River I'm going to kill you!" Simon shouted.

"Simon you got a boyfriend?" Jayne asked his laughter under control.

"No I don't have a boyfriend! I just had to pretend to like this guy because… Oh you know what fine I have a boyfriend. There are you happy?" Simon replied and shot a killing look at his sister.

"Well damn when ya admit to it, it takes all the fun outta it." Jayne pouted.

"Yeah I know." Simon replied smugly.

All six members of Serenity looked at each other and suddenly large smiles plastered the faces of everyone. Mal whooped loudly and jumped up. He put his arms around River's waist and lifted her off the ground, happily raining kisses onto her face and neck.

"You did it bao-bei!" He exclaimed.

River giggled and wrapped her arms tightly around Mal's neck, returning his kisses passionately.

After everyone had celebrated their new found wealth Kaylee and Jayne left in the Mule to turn in their winning ticket. Zoe, Mal, Simon, and River waited anxiously all evening for the two to return. Mal began to get nervous when the sun went down and there was still no sign of the Mule. By eleven that night he was close to a panic and ready to fly Serenity back to the docks to look for them. Just when he'd made the decision to do just that he heard the whine of the Mule approaching.

Jayne drove the Mule into the cargo bay and stopped it suddenly. He and Kaylee were both laughing loudly and seemed to have been singing as well.

"Ya'll mind explaining to me just where in the hell you've been for five hours?" Mal asked angrily.

Kaylee and Jayne both stopped laughing and turned to look at their Captain. One good look at the both of them and Mal knew that they were both drunk. Very drunk by the look of it.

"Sh-orry Cap'n. There was a big- a big party after they found out we won. We had ta stay and get our- hic- our captures taken." Kaylee slurred as she attempted to climb down from the Mule.

Mal walked over and caught Kaylee just as she fell out of the Mule and plummeted head first towards the floor. She looked up at Mal and gave him a bright smile.

"Thanks Cap'n." She giggled as he set her on her feet. She promptly fell down and giggled helplessly in a heap on the floor.

Mal sighed and left her giggling to talk to Jayne. He was just as drunk as Kaylee, Mal thought it was a wonder they had not driven the shuttle into a tree.

"You mind tellin me why you felt the need to get completely hammered along with my mechanic?" Mal asked.

"S'like she said Mal. They started celebratin soon as we turned in the ticket. We had ta fill out a bunch a paper work and get our captures taken. Then they started handin out the champagne and we couldn't just leave." Jayne explained.

Mal sighed but decided to enjoy their newfound wealth and not get upset about the drinking.

"Alright get yerself ta bed." Mal ordered and gave Jayne a friendly slap on the arm.

Mal found Simon and River on the bridge involved in a heated discussion about some sort of physics that Mal couldn't begin to understand.

"Hey Doc yer wife's back." Mal informed Simon.

Simon jumped up eagerly and headed to the door. He stopped and turned back to Mal.

"They're alright right?" Simon asked.

"Well other than bein completely wasted their fine. Kaylee's probably passed out on the floor next to the Mule by now."

Simon grinned and rolled his eyes before leaving to get his wife to bed.

"They got the ticket turned in." Mal told River.

She nodded and smiled before standing up to hug him tightly.

"Now we can go anywhere we want. No more having to scrape by from job to job." Mal said happily.

"I love you ai-ren." She whispered into his ear before trailing her tongue down his neck.

"Hey now none a that! The Doc said you can't be doin nothing for another two weeks." Mal reprimanded and pulled himself away from River's skillful tongue.

"Sorry. I will restrain myself until Simon says it's ok for us to resume our activities." River complied.

"The girls asleep?" Mal asked.

"Yes they're in our bunk. I have the baby monitor on." River assured him and nodded her head towards the comm unit they had rigged up to work as a baby monitor.

"You ready to go ta bed?" Mal asked.

River yawned widely and nodded. "I will be very elated when the girls begin sleeping through the night."

Mal threw his arm over River's shoulder and walking arm in arm they headed to their room. Before climbing into bed they spent a few minutes watching the girls sleep side by side in their makeshift bassinet.

"We should plan on makin a trip to some place with a good shopping district. We can build the girls a nursery in the empty passenger bunk next door." Mal suggested.

River leaned against his shoulder and sighed contently. "I think that's a very good idea my love."

Mal undressed, climbed under the covers, and watched in admiration as River undressed in front of him. It was hard to believe that not even a month ago she'd been pregnant with twins. Her figure was much curvier than it had been before, but that only enhanced her beauty. Her stomach was nearly as flat as it had been before her pregnancy and to Mal's delight her breasts had grown much fuller than they'd been before.

"Ahh bao-bei waitin another two weeks is gonna kill me I'm thinkin. You are so damn beautiful." Mal whispered lustfully as River slipped a night gown over her head and climbed into bed beside him.

"Well delayed gratification is often very pleasing. Just think how wonderful it will be when we can be together again." River whispered into his ear and then cuddled up against him.

Mal buried his face in River's hair and breathed in the sweet scent of her. He fell asleep easily that night. It was the first time in many months that he wasn't worried about providing for his family. He realized that money couldn't buy happiness but money could buy security and safety for his family and that definitely made him happy.

Serenity lifted off early the next morning, Kaylee moaned the whole time about Mal making her get up so early to check the engines, but seemed happier once she was in working on her baby.

After breakfast Mal went down to his old bunk in the crew quarters and signed onto the Cortex. He checked the balance on the bank account they had set up for their lottery winnings to be deposited in, hoping the deposit had been made already. The lottery winnings wouldn't be paid to them all at once, but paid in a steady monthly deposit over the next fifteen years. While this meant that they couldn't go absolutely crazy with their spending it also meant that they would be having a very large sum of money given to them every single month.

To Mal's delight he found that the first payment had already been deposited into the account and suddenly the crew of Serenity was a very rich group of people. He left his old bunk and walked into the bridge where River sat at the controls.

"Should I set a course for Beaumonde? It's only a day away and shopping in New Dunsmuir is always good." River asked.

"You think it'll be safe?" Mal asked.

River shrugged and gave him a small smile.

"We can't hide forever ai-ren. I would like to go buy baby things for the girls as soon as possible, they have very few clothes that fit them and they are always getting dirty." River explained.

"Well Beaumonde it is then." Mal said.

They stayed docked on Beaumonde for nearly a week. River and Mal spent their time shopping for baby things and soon Haven and Annabelle had a nursery that few children in the Verse would ever have.

The rest of the crew was given the job of completely stocking up the ship like they had never been able to do before.

Mal was a little worried that Kaylee would die of happiness when he gave her free reign to buy anything she thought Serenity's engine could use. They barely saw the mechanic for the entire week; when she wasn't out shopping for parts she was in the engine room replacing old parts with new more advanced ones.

Simon likewise was happy to stock up the infirmary with new equipment and medicines that they had previously been unable to afford.

Jayne and Zoe spent their week restocking the kitchen and weapons stores.

The next week when they were back in the Black the crew was eating better than they ever had while on the ship.

Jayne belched loudly one night after dinner and leaned back in his chair, rubbing his stomach contently.

"I gotta say I'm likin this whole bein rich thing. I mean hell if it means we get ta keep eatin like this I'll be damn happy for the rest a my life." He commented and lit up an after dinner cigar.

"Yeah ain't gonna disagree with ya on that point. The food is definitely better when ya got a big wad a cash to spend on it." Mal agreed pleasantly.

It was late that night when River woke from a deep sleep and found that Mal was not in bed with her. She checked the girl's room and found that they too were not in their brand new cribs.

Using her reader skills River was able to walk straight to the bridge where she knew Mal was sitting with their daughters.

She walked quietly to the door and stood smiling at the sight before her. Mal was sitting in the pilot's chair holding both of the babies in his arms.

"See that out there little bits. Now some people are gonna tell ya that the Black is cold and lonely and too big. It can be all them things but it can be so much more. That little bits is freedom out there. The Black is a place where you can go wherever you want and you can be whatever you want. And I promise ya right now that I aim to make sure you both have that freedom for the rest of yer lives. Yer ma and I we had alotta bad things happen to us when we were younger, stuff you'll hear about someday when yer much much older. But I swear to ya none a that is gonna happen to either of you. Yer gonna have people who love you and protect you forever." Mal whispered to the girls.

River was filled with warmth as she listened to her husband talk to their little girls. She realized then that even if the Alliance someday caught up with them things would turn out alright in the end. She knew that Mal would always come for her and for their children. He would fight for them with his very last breath if it came to that. She had known that Simon would always come for her, but having a man who loved her, who would fight for her, who would die for her was something she never thought she'd have.

She walked up behind Mal and put her arms around his neck.

"Hey love what ya doin up? Me and the girls were tryin ta stay outta yer hair so you could get some sleep." Mal said lovingly.

"I woke up and missed my family." She replied and snuggled her face into the crook of his neck.

"Well we ain't goin no where bao-bei." Mal promised.

"I know ai-ren. I know." River said with a smile.

End

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Thanks for all the nice reviews! I already have the first chapter of the next story in this arc written, so I'll post it in a day or two. Happy Holidays everyone!


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